Page 27 - Centrum Dialogu im. Marka Edelmana w Łodzi. Jesteśmy drzewami wiecznymi.

Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi
State Archive in Łódź

After the ghetto was sealed off, a network of schools was created under the
auspices of the Education Department. In 1940-1941, the ghetto had 36
public schools, 4 religious schools, 2 middle schools and a music school. Later,
a school for deaf children was established and secondary school graduation
exams were conducted. In total, nearly 15 thousand children were enrolled in
the schools. The curriculum was based on the pre-war syllabus and it was not
until July 1941 that content concerning Poland was eliminated on the order
of the German authorities. The students were entitled to hot meals, medical
care and summer camps at Marysin. The school system ceased to exist in the
autumn of 1941, when Jews from the Reich and the Protectorate were resettled
to the ghetto. At that time, the school buildings were turned into the so-called
“collectives” – places of collective residence for new inhabitants of the ghetto.
In the photos: students of one of the schools in the ghetto.

Only the school remained an oasis of tranquillity,
a diversion from harsh reality. What’s more, the blessed school gave all
students hot soup for lunch – also a powerful magnet.

– Salomea Kape –

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