Page 21 - Centrum Dialogu im. Marka Edelmana w Łodzi. Time of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. Film images.

The memory of the Łódź ghetto

— Joanna Podolska

Ten years ago, when a review of documentary films
(Song of the Murdered Jewish Nation) was being pre-
th
pared for the 60 anniversary of the liquidation of Litz-
mannstadt Ghetto, one of the greatest surprises was
the discovery of Daniel Szylit’s film, Litzmannstadt Getto
produced in 1965 by the Educational Film Studio in
Łódź. At that time, the Łódź ghetto seemed to be forgot-
ten. However, when I looked deeper into the matter it
turned out that since 1945 the ghetto survivors had
been trying to commemorate the martyrdom of the Łódź
Jews. Every year, symbolic ceremonies were performed
at the Jewish cemetery. From the very beginning, the
survivors wanted to build a memorial to the Jews mur-
dered in the ghetto in Bałucki Rynek, addressing their
request to the changing authorities of the city. As nothing
had been done for ten years, in 1956, the Jewish inhab-
itants of Łódź founded a memorial and placed it within
the boundaries of the Jewish cemetery. Up to this day, at
the end of August, religious ceremonies are organized
and Kadish for the dead is said at that memorial.
The ghetto survivors did not give up. They kept fight-
ing for a memorial dedicated to the Jewish population
of Łódź to be built in the city. On the 20 anniversary of
th
the liquidation of the ghetto (1964), Jewish activists, in-
cluding survivors, Barbara Beatus and Arnold Mostow-
icz, held several meetings with Michalina Tatarkówna,
who at that time was the first secretary of the Łódź com-
mittee of Polish United Party of Workers [PZPR], and rep-
resentatives of the City Council, reminding them about
the plans to build a memorial. In spite of their efforts,
they achieved nothing but a formal ceremony in the
th
Nowy Theatre to commemorate the 20 anniversary of
the liquidation of the Łódź ghetto, and another cere-
mony at the Jewish cemetery. However, on the rising tide
of interest in the ghetto, several important books were
published. The works published in the 1960s include

e memory of the Łódź ghetto 19