Dictator of the Lodz ghetto

The file contains a report about the 'Dictator of the Lodz ghetto - the strange history of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski' by Solomon F. Bloom. In his report Solomon F. Bloom tells the life story of a man who chose to make of the disaster a personal opportunity. Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski , Jewish 'dictator' of the Lodz ghetto, whose awful figure has much to teach of the power of degradation the Nazi terror had, and the dreadful depravities of which the common human nature is capable. The Nazi Amtsleiter in Lodz appointed Rumkowski the 'Judenälteste' (Chief Elder of the Jews), head of the 'Ältestenrat' (Council of Elders). In this position, Rumkowski reported directly to the Nazi ghetto administration. By industrializing the Lodz ghetto, he hoped to make the community indispensable to the Germans and save the people of Lodz. Rumkowski actively cooperated with the German demands hoping to save the majority of the ghetto inmates. Rumkowski died during the final liquidation of the Lodz ghetto.