Page 89 - Centrum Dialogu im. Marka Edelmana w Łodzi. Time of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. Film images.

A still from Radegast, from the locals in terms of their appearance (therefore
directed by B. Lankosz, 2008, they were nicknamed yekes – ‘jackets’), manners and
courtesy of Grupa education. They came mostly from rich bourgeoisie or
Filmowa Fargo
middle class families, had university educations and be-
longed to intelligentsia circles. They were lawyers, doc-
tors, writers, musicians, scientists. 700 lawyers and
their families were brought in the second transport from
Prague alone. The ghetto inhabitants joked that there
were more future Nobel prize winners there in one
square metre than anywhere else in the world. ‘Here the
great encounter of two worlds takes place’– says Stella
Czajkowska. – ‘Into this abnormal world, ruined by the
war, and ruled by famine and filth, came the aristocracy
of Western Jews, who had hitherto lived in relative free-
dom. They came excellently equipped, they had never
experienced hunger and suddenly they were confronted
with the daily life of the Łódź ghetto’ (RD).
Life in the ghetto was regulated by particular laws
which differed from those applicable outside. Adapta-
tion to the reality of life in a Central European ghetto
was difficult for all its inhabitants, but it was extremely
painful for newcomers from Western Europe. ‘They were
put into ‘boiling water’, whereas we gradually accus-
tomed ourselves to the rising temperature’ – said the
father of little Roman Freund (RD) to explain the high
death rate among Western European Jews who came to
Łódź. ‘In the ghetto there were many Jews who used to

A Journey to the Cursed Land 87