Photograph of fence construction around the Łódź ghetto

The photographic depicts Zgierska Street and the construction of the fence surrounding the ghetto in Łódź, Poland, a short time before the sealing of the ghetto. Zgierska Street was renamed by the Germans to Hohensteinstrasse. The wall visible on the right in the photograph surrounded a Catholic church,"Wniebow stapienia Najswietzej Panny Marii," on 1 Plac Koscielny which was included in the ghetto. German authorities maintained a warehouse of property,"Federn und Daunen Sortieranstalt," confiscated from Jews deported to the Chelmno death camp. The driver of the carriage in the photograph is not wearing a Star of David which means that the photograph was taken before the sealing of the ghetto and that the driver was not Jewish. Dirt dug up to create holes used for the building of the fence that subsequently separated the ghetto from the city can be seen along the sidewalk. After April 30, 1940, there were only two horse-drawn carriages in the ghetto: one belonged to Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, the chairman of the Jewish Council, and the other was the ambulance. Zgierska Street was open to"Aryan" streetcars, but the streetcars' doors and windows were tightly locked. The sidewalks belonged to the ghetto and were behind a barbed wire fence. Jerzy Flajszman lived on 9 Jerozolimska Street and had to cross the wooden bridge over Zgierska Street to reach the workshop on 56 Zgierska Street. The offices of KRIPO (Kriminal Polizei) were located on 4 Koscielna Street. Jews were forced to turn over all of their valuables like jewelry, radios, fur coats, and even dogs.