Cast metal chimney iron with a wooden handle
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 8.500 inches (21.59 cm) | Width: 8.250 inches (20.955 cm) | Depth: 4.875 inches (12.383 cm)
Archival History
The iron was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
Cast metal chimney iron of the type used in the Łódź Ghetto in German-occupied Poland from May 1940 to August 1944. Łódź was occupied by Germany a week after the September 1, 1939, invasion of Poland. The city was renamed Litzmannstadt, and in February 1940, approximately 160,000 people from the Jewish population were confined to a small, closed ghetto. All residents had to work, and many became forced laborers in ghetto factories. Eventually, nearly 100 factories were in operation. The major ones produced textiles, including uniforms for the Germany Army. In the ghetto, people attempted to maintain their normal lives, despite the increasing hardships. Women, when they were not laboring in the factories, worked to prepare food and do laundry for their families. These activities were made difficult by the meager food rations they received, and the lack of running water throughout most of the ghetto. Due to the severe overcrowding and scarce food, disease and starvation were common. The Judenrat (Jewish Council) were forced to administer the ghetto for the Germans. Judenrat chairman, Mordechai Rumkowski, thought hard work and increased manufacturing output would preserve the ghetto, but in January 1942, mass deportations to Chelmno killing center began. By the end of the year, half of the residents were murdered. 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
Cast metal, triangular, chimney iron with a wooden handle. The body is hollow, with a flat base and top, and sides that taper into a rounded point at the front. A small, floral-shaped cover swings upward on the back revealing a circular opening. Resting on the base is a flat top that extends upward at the front into an open, circular chamber which allows smoke to release. The top hinges open at the back. At the front, near the chimney, there is a metal crank with a wooden knob handle, used to lock the lid in place. Attached to the top, at the rear, is a vertical metal bracket that extends several inches and forms the back attachment point for the plain, rounded wooden handle that spans from the back to the top circular chamber. Spanning under the wooden handle is a thin piece of metal shaped like a hammock with an embossed anchor, lettering and rope, and scroll decorations. The wooden handle is worn, and the decorative piece of metal has a heavy layer of dirt on the surface.
Corporate Bodies
- Litzmannstadt-Getto (Łódź, Poland)
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland.
- Łódź (Poland)
- Slave labor--Poland--Łódź.
- Textile workers--Poland.
- Forced labor--Poland--Łódź.
- Częstochowa (Poland)
- Jewish women in the Holocaust--Poland.
- World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Poland--Łódź.
- Jews--Persecutions--Poland.
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Łódź.
Genre
- Appliances.
- Object
- Personal Equipment and Supplies