Page 101 - Centrum Dialogu im. Marka Edelmana w Łodzi. "Fragmenty pamięci".

Wielka Szpera 5-12 września 1942 The Great Szpera, 5-12 September 1942

Initially, the deportation operation was carried out by the Jewish police, but the Germans had already
entered the ghetto on 5 September.

With a remarkably sure arm movement, the German pulls the sick, the infirm, the swollen and
the weak out of the ranks. With a flick of the wrist, he performs the ”sorting of the material”:
to the right — you stay; to the left — march onto the wagon! Just as you stand. People do not
even carry a towel. When it comes to children, no one asks about their age.
A child is a child — march onto the wagon! Nobody dares to make a sound. Mothers do not
dare to move their hands. This is something completely different! They are no longer the
confused, crying police officers of the ”Prezes”, perturbing the Jewish mother. Only a few
gunshots and shouted commands can be heard; otherwise, there is a deathly silence.

Oskar Singer, 16 September 1942

On 11 September, Hans Biebow stopped the deportation operation and ordered total production in all
workplaces in the ghetto to start on Monday, 14 September 1942.

12 September 1942 marked the Jewish New Year – Rosh HaShanah, 5703. Instead of prayers and joy,
mourning and despair enveloped the community, but the ghetto quickly returned to a seeming sense
of normalcy.

Rosh HaShanah 1942 in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto has made its way into Jewish history.
Not a single child will forget it.

Oskar Singer, 16 September 1942

It would have seemed that the events of the last few days would put the entire population
of the ghetto into mourning for a long time, but immediately after the accidents, and even
during the deportation operation, the population was preoccupied with everyday concerns,
such as collecting bread rations and so on, and overlooked their personal misfortune.
Is such numbness and indifference a disease symptom? After the loss of the people closest
to you — would you only talk about rations, potatoes, soups, and so forth? It is all so difficult
to explain! Such a lack of cordiality for those closest to you? There are, of course, more
than a few mothers in a corner weeping over the fate of a deported child or children, but in
general, the picture of the ghetto does not reflect the terrible experiences of the last week.

Chronicle of the Łódź Ghetto, September of 1942

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