Shoemaker’s stool of the type used in Łódź Ghetto
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm) | Width: 15.250 inches (38.735 cm) | Depth: 15.500 inches (39.37 cm)
Archival History
The stool was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
Handmade stool, possibly for a shoemaker, similar to those used by Jewish forced laborers in the Łódź Ghetto in German-occupied Poland from May 1940 to summer 1944. Łódź was occupied by Germany a week after the September 1939 invasion of Poland. It was renamed Litzmannstadt, and in February 1940, the Jewish population of about 160,000 people was confined to a small, sealed-off ghetto. All residents had to work, and 85 percent of the ghetto population labored in nearly 100 factories. The major ones produced textiles, including uniforms for the German Army. Occupying authorities seized much of the specialized machinery from the Jewish population, forcing them to use hand techniques for production. Due to severe overcrowding and scarce food, disease and starvation were common. The Judenrat (Jewish Council) administered the ghetto for the Germans, and chairman Mordechai Rumkowski thought hard work and high output would preserve the ghetto. However, in January 1942, mass deportations to Chelmno killing center began; half the residents were murdered by the end of the year. In summer 1944, Łódź, the last ghetto in Poland, was destroyed and the remaining Jews were sent to Chelmno and Auschwitz-Birkenau killing centers.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Short, square, handmade stool with a woven strap seat. There are four, straight wooden legs with tapered feet, connected at the top with seat rails. They are supported by four irregularly shaped stretchers of varying size and thickness near the bottom. On the back side, the stretcher and seat rail each have an additional horizontal brace, attached on the outside of the legs. The seat is made from interwoven yellow and white cloth straps, which are folded over and nailed to the sides frame with rusty finishing nails. The straps are uneven in length and fraying at the ends. The wood has heavy overall wear and paint splatters across the surface.
Corporate Bodies
- Litzmannstadt-Getto (Łódź, Poland)
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland.
- Poland--History--German occupation, 1939-1945.
- Poland.
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Łódź--Economic aspects.
- World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Poland--Łódź.
Genre
- Object
- Seating furniture.
- Furnishings and Furniture