Page 85 - Centrum Dialogu im. Marka Edelmana w Łodzi. Zofia Lubińska-Rosset - "Okruchy Pamięci".

I was struggling to climb an icy bridge due to a heel sore, I fell over,
slipped down a few steps and was severely bruised. In both cases,
we still had to cross the bridge over Zgierska St. at Koscielny
Square (Kirchplatz), and then go only (or as far as!) the entire
Brzezinska Street.
Another route we chose more often led through the northern
part of the ghetto, with the gate at Dolna St. (Talweg), then Ceglana
St. (Steinmetzgasse), through Balucki Market (Baluter Ring) and
Dworska to Mlynarska St. (Mühlengasse) to Brzezinska St. (Sul-
zferderstrase). I remember that at one of the houses in Balucki
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Market there was a signboard with the word “Cyrulik” written on
it, I did not know that term at the time. That route was actually
shorter and safer because it ran mainly through courtyards, apart
from the risk of direct contact with the guards and the uncertainty
when they would allow people to pass through the gate (usually
a larger group of people had to gather).

At the department I was initially assigned to weave straw
braids, which were parts of the straw shoes for the German army
on the Eastern front. However, the work turned out to be beyond
my strength and soon I was transferred to an office where I was
engaged as a messenger. I was supposed to run with orders be-
tween the buildings of the departments. When I turned out to be
equally useless in this role, I was admitted to a tailor's school at
Mlynarska Street. Later, I got a job at the tailoring department at
13/15 Franciszkanska St. (Franzstrasse) where probably uniforms
for the army were sewn. My job was to fetch the thread, collect the
clippings and generally keep things tidy. I do not remember how
long I worked in those departments. In each of them, once a day,
we got a portion of watery soup with pieces of rutabaga in it, less
often potatoes, and it was the highlight of the day.

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Cyrulik – old-fashioned term for a barber – a profession of shaving, bathing, but also
pulling out teeth.

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