Wohngebiet der Juden in Litzmannstadt. [Residential Area of the Jews in Litzmannstadt.]

[Poland], 1940. Handwritten map of the Lodz ghetto with legend, marks and signs in red, green, and black ink, and pencil. Drawn on a contemporary German, mimeographed map, printed in black. Handwritten legend in Polish. Folded. Slightly chipped at the extremities. With a small tear at top middle folding. Light foxing here and there. Small black paint stains at the right edge with no effect on text or drawing. Two stains of wax at the upper section, which possibly dripped from a candle. Slightly dusted on the verso. Overall in fine condition.. Handwritten map of the Lodz ghetto with legend, marks and signs in red, green, and black ink, and pencil. Drawn on a contemporary German, mimeographed map, printed in black. Handwritten legend in Polish. 55 cm × 39 cm.

Handwritten map of the Lodz Ghetto, drawn by a former resident of the ghetto.

The map, which was drawn on the mimeographed map of the area of "Wohngebiet der Juden in Litzmannstadt", the residential area of the Lodz Ghetto, was created as a tool to escape. Besides the roads and neighborhoods in the area of the ghetto, the map includes all the important spots, such as transition gates, soup kitchens, stores, the post office, holy sites and the Getto Verwaltung (Ghetto Administration) offices, marked by green, red and black signs. The handwritten legend is placed at the lower right corner of the map. The maker of the map survived the Holocaust after joining a group of partisans. After the War, he settled down in Israel, where he played an active role in the community of Holocaust Survivors. For his activities, he received a governmental prize.

The Lodz Ghetto was established in early 1940, about 160,000 Jews, over a third of the entire population of the city, were forced into a small area at the northeastern section of Lodz. The Ghetto became a major production center under the German occupation, using the Jewish residents for forced labor, to produce uniforms, wood and metalworks, and electrical equipment for the German army. In 1941 and 1942, almost 40,000 Jews were deported to the Lodz ghetto. The deportation of the Jews from Lodz to Chelmno extermination camp started in early 1942, however, the process was ceased between September 1942 and May 1944 while the ghetto resembled a forced-labor camp. In the spring of 1944, the Nazis decided to destroy the place, which remained the last ghetto in occupied Poland to be liquidated, with a population of approximately 75,000 Jews. A total of 204,000 Jews passed through the Lodz Ghetto, but only 877 remained hidden when it was liberated by in January 1945. (USHMM)

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