Singer treadle sewing machine table of the type used in Łódź Ghetto
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 29.000 inches (73.66 cm) | Width: 34.500 inches (87.63 cm) | Depth: 17.125 inches (43.498 cm)
Creator(s)
- Singer Sewing Machine Corp. (Manufacturer)
Archival History
The table was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Singer iron and wood sewing machine table of the type used in 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, about 160,000 people, was confined to a small sealed off ghetto. All residents had to work and many were forced laborers in ghetto factories. Eventually, nearly 100 factories were in operation. The major ones produced textiles, including uniforms for the German Army. Due to the severe overcrowding and scarce food, disease and starvation were common. The Judenrat [Jewish Council] administered the ghetto for the Germans. Judenrat chairman Mordechai Rumkowski thought hard work and high outputs would preserve the ghetto. But 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
Brown, wooden treadle powered sewing machine table with black, cast iron, lattice work legs connected by a metal H cross brace. A large spoked wheel is attached to the right side and a rectangular lattice work treadle is attached near the bottom. The table has a flat, rectangular wooden top with a beveled edge and a hinged, 12 inch wide leaf on the left end, supported by a swinging cast iron bracket. In the center is a rectangular hole with 2 thick, metal mounting posts for a sewing machine on the inner edge. There is a thin, notched rectangular tray attached below to support the machine. The tray is flanked by support runners for 2 rectangular drawers. The right drawer has a decorative metal drawer; the left drawer is missing.
Subjects
- Slave labor--Poland--Łódź.
- World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Poland--Łódź.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland.
- Poland--History--German occupation, 1939-1945.
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Łódź.
- Jews--Persecutions--Poland.
Genre
- Object
- Furnishings and Furniture