Helen Gens

By in Holocaust

An Introduction to the Lodz Ghetto             Lodz, Poland was the second largest city in Poland at the start of World War II. It was home to the second highest population of Jews in Poland prior to the start of the war. Despite these statistics, Lodz was a city that had a long history of anti-Semitism. Lodz was originally under Prussian control, and these occupants felt the need to limit the amount of Jews who could live there. It was not until the Russians occupation of the city in the mid-1800s that these restrictions would be lifted. World War I and the destruction of the city, anti-Semitism returned as the Polish government refused to compensate Jewish factory and storeowners so they could rebuild what they had lost. At this point in time, Jews had made up a large portion of the city’s population and the city had thrived on the economic success of the Jewish population who lived...