Ghetto Litzmannstadt – Straw winter boots

These winter boots are made by the Strohschuh-Abteilung in the Ghetto of Litzmannstadt.
The straw was woven by hand by the Jewish forced laborers and when they were finished they were transported to the depot of the German army in small train wagons.

Ghetto Litzmannstadt

The Łódź Ghetto (Poland) also known as the Ghetto Litzmannstadt was the second largest ghetto (after the Warsaw Ghetto) to house Jews and some 5,000 Romani Gypsies in German-occupied Poland.

Located in the center of Łódź and originally intended as a temporary gathering point for Jews, the ghetto was transformed into a major industrial center, providing much-needed supplies for Nazi Germany and especially the German military.

During the war, some 43,000 people died in Ghetto Litzmannstadt from starvation, disease and executions.
Some 145,000 people were deported from the Ghetto to extermination camps such as Auschwitz and Chelmno.

On January 19, 1945, the Ghetto was liberated and only 900 survivors were present.