Sondergericht Litzmannstadt Special Court Litzmannstadt Sąd Specjalny w Łodzi (Sygn.196)

Identifier
irn86802
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2014.268
  • RG-15.338
Dates
1 Jan 1939 - 31 Dec 1945
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
  • Polish
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

96,232 digital images, JPEG

Creator(s)

Biographical History

The Special Court (Sondergericht) was established on Sept. 22 1939, when the first group of judges arrived in Łódź, headed by the Director of the national court, Dr. Artur Welz. The Sondergericht judged economic cases, political cases (e.g. possession of a weapon, criticism of the Nazi regime, radio monitoring, contacts with P.O.W.s, assistance to the persecuted), as well as crimes against good morals. The Sondergericht covered the area of Łódź and neighboring counties. Its main objective was to adjudicate in cases concerning crimes against the state and regime. There was no appeal against the verdicts.

Archival History

Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi

Acquisition

Forms part of the Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This archive consists of documentation whose reproduction and/or acquisition was made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

After the liberation, the archives were protected by the Polish authorities, and in 1945-1953 were kept by the archives of the District Court in Łódź, then by the Provincial Court. Finally after initial arrangement archives were transferred to the State Archive in Łódź (Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi). Source of acquisition is the Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi, Poland, Sygn.196. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum received the filmed collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archival Programs Division in 2014.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of files of the Special Court in Łódź, as well as the files of the Landgericht (District Court) and Amtsgericht. Along with the court files there are also reference files of the prosecutor. The collection consists of selected files: all cases related to the resistance movement have been copied, as well as those related to political activity, religious activity and, widely considered Jewish matters. Other cases were illustrated as examples in some dozen cases. Thus, for example,. illegal trade, illegal slaughter, illegal manufacture of vodka and other crimes of economic character represented by Polish or German defendants, as well as individual Jews (if they participated in those cases). The selection of cases in various categories is of a typical character.

System of Arrangement

The system of arrangement of the source repository has been preserved on the microfilm reels. Arranged in three series: 1. Cases related to resistant movement; 2. Jewish matters; 3. Selection of various cases related to Poles, Jews, Germans and other nationalities. Records are selected from the original record group as representation of the whole original collection.

Conditions Governing Reproduction

Copyright Holder: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.