Liquidation of the Lodz ghetto and deportation to Auschwitz
August 1944
Jack Adler
In late 1942, the Nazi Third Reich is at the height of its power. Nearly all of continental Europe is either occupied by or allied with Nazi Germany, which proceeds with its plan for the “Final Solution”: the annihilation of European Jewry. As of May 1942, the Nazis operate six dedicated killing centers in occupied Poland: Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Killing Centers in Occupied Poland, 1942: Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka. Lodz and Pabianice are indicated.
Europe at the height of Nazi expansion in 1942.
By the summer of 1944, the tide of the war seems to be changing. Since the surrender of German forces at Stalingrad in February 1943, the Soviet army has been on the offensive, advancing westward into Poland. In July 1944, they reach Majdanek, the first major Nazi concentration camp with killing facilities to be liberated by Allied forces. The Soviets find some 500 survivors in the camp. In an attempt to cover up their crimes before abandoning the camp, Nazi guards hastily destroy its installations, including crematoria.
Even as the Red Army pushes west, Nazi Germany and its allies continue deportations of Jews to Auschwitz, the largest killing center. At the same time, prisoners able to work are pressed into slave labor working for the Nazi war machine.
The productivity of the Lodz ghetto for the war effort seems to prolong its survival after the liquidation of most other Polish ghettos. Throughout 1942, non-working inhabitants are removed for “resettlement,” which invariably means extermination in the Chelmno killing center and, later, in Auschwitz. In August 1944, the Nazis move to liquidate the Lodz ghetto. Over 60,000 Jews, including Jack and his family, are deported to Auschwitz in August 1944.
Transcript
Jack Adler: Well, the ghetto, first of all, the population was getting smaller and smaller. People were dying off, and there were, you know, taken out of the ghetto many people. As I said, when the ghetto was being officially liquidated, there were around 68,000 from an overall population in excess of 200,000.
And one day, we were ordered [SIGHS] to report, I believe about 5,000 per day, to the railroad station. Take along whatever you want. [PAUSES FOR 3 SECONDS] And upon arrival at the railroad station, [PAUSES FOR 3 SECONDS] there was, if you will, like a convoy of cattle cars lined up. They put planks on, so you could walk up into it.
And they herded us into those cars like cattle. Maximum capacity, standing room only. They didn't tell us where they were-- they told us we're going to Germany. We're going to work there, because the Russians are moving on to Poland. They're going to save us from the Russians. And that we'll be OK. We're going together with whatever family was left at that point to Germany.
And when each car was filled up to maximum capacity, they [were] sealed off from the outside. And we traveled, I believe, for about two, two and 1/2 days.
"And they herded us into those cars like cattle. Maximum capacity, standing room only."
USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive, Interview 18433
Excerpt from Jack's memoir, Y? A Holocaust Narrative:
Nazi authorities informed those remaining that Litzmannstadt [Lodz] would be emptied of all occupants, and in short time. In groups of five thousand, they had us report to the nearby railroad station. [...] We assumed we were all just being moved—moved to our next camp, our next half-life in a place where we would know again the meaning of slavery and torture.
Finally, our time arrived. We were somehow blessed to have our family unit remain intact and I left with my father and two sisters to the station. Nazis there herded us into cattle cars and boxcars. We barely had standing room, and breathing became a chore in the mustiness of the packed cars. We couldn’t even sit down. There was no privacy and no room to do much else than stand, pressed against a neighbor, idle in our wait to discover what would become of us. The soldiers did not give us food or water, and once a car was filled beyond its maximum capacity, the doors slammed shut and we were cut off from all knowledge of the world and our fate.
We didn’t know our destination—only that we had to do what we were told or die.
We rode like this for two days in miserable conditions and worse psychological states. If we had to relieve ourselves, we did...again, without privacy. There was a large barrel of human waste in the middle of the car. I felt sorry for those who had to stand close, but we all took shifts as we pushed that way if the need arose, then pushed away after our turn. The Nazis wouldn’t have treated actual cattle that poorly. We went hungry and the thirst was beyond bearable. People cried or whimpered, but most of us were reserved in our misery. We didn’t realize it until later, but people actually died among us without us even knowing, the odor of their decomposing bodies disguised by the putrid stench of waste that floated in the hot air.
[...]
When the train stopped, we still weren’t sure our trip was over; it seemed it would keep going, only to take a break here and there, before the soft rumble of the wheels on the track would begin again and continue as a drone that numbed our minds and bodies into complacency.
This time, however, the doors opened and the immediate rush of fresh air came as a shock to the system, something akin to an immediate change in temperature. The cleaner air that sucked into the car was foreign, but we relished it in a way only someone who has suffered this torture can understand. Other prisoners dressed in stripes opened the doors and ushered us out. All the while, Nazi officers screamed at us in German to disembark at once. [...]
The soldiers were meant to be understood and followed without question. If someone was too slow to comply, he or she was shot or struck with the butt of a soldier’s gun. Prisoners who already worked at the camp would drag away the bodies like it was habit.
Those prisoners, called the Sonderkommando, were also there to greet us and translate instructions for those unable to comprehend the guttural and angry German we heard. Their true purpose, though, was to take away whatever remained of our personal belongings. We didn’t have much. Nothing remained of the Adler family photos or heirlooms, no jewelry or clothing—just whatever we wore on our backs.
We thought there would be nothing to take.
We were wrong.
As the prisoners wove among us, asking for anything we still had, they also spoke words that I’m sure saved some lives.
“Look strong,” they whispered, “if you want to live.”
They have arrived at the selection ramp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Although they have heard of the place, the name means little to them. The largest and deadliest of Nazi extermination camps, Auschwitz will become synonymous with the evil of the Holocaust.
Excerpt from Jack's memoir, Y? A Holocaust Narrative:
The selection process was something to which I would grow accustomed for the duration of the Holocaust. [...] Those men would examine each prisoner in turn and decide if that person looked strong enough to perform labor—labor deemed necessary to the efforts of war. In Auschwitz, they had those deemed worthy of slavery ordered to the left. The rest—the young, sick, or old—moved to the right. They were the useless eaters. The Nazis killed people like those in the hundreds of thousands.
We saved Peska once, but this time was different. I had been able to protect her for a little over two years, but now I was helpless. My eyes followed her and Ester, ignoring much of what was happening around me. As soldiers and prisoners alike passed through my line of sight, I kept searching for her. Spotting her long blonde hair, I was able to track her through her line. She followed the other women through the selection process, pressed to Ester’s side and pushed forward by the mob. She was crying and confused. When they made it to the front of the line, the soldiers split my sisters—Ester moved to the work line, Peska moved in the other direction.
Jack will never see his sisters again. He later learns that Peska, the youngest, was murdered shortly after their arrival in Auschwitz, along with all the others who had been ordered to the right. Ester is assigned to work, but their paths do not cross again. She later dies in Bergen-Belsen.
Transcript
Jack Adler: However, the very first night in Birkenau, when I went to the latrine-- and the latrine was as big as this apartment, come-- you know. They had holes in the sides. And in the middle, you had water running.
Someone shouted my name. And I turned around. I recognized him to be a friend of the family. He says, your father's looking for you. What barrack number are you in? And when I told him, being an adult, I guess he recognized what that barrack was. So he took me by the hand, and he says, I'll take you to your father. And sure enough, he did.
We were in barracks, my father and I, in Auschwitz-Birkenau. They-- we were told they used to use for a horse stables. So there was a clay floor, divided in the center, like a chimney. And instead of going up, it went across the room and divided. And there were 700 people-- 750 people-- sleeping on the ground, on each side.
In the barracks, in Auschwitz-Birkenau, we did have appells. Each morning, you had to fall out and be counted. And the first day, when I went back to my father, of course, there was one prisoner too many. And the guy, the German who was doing the counting, shouted, the one who doesn't belong here step forward at once! And of course, my father wouldn't allow me to do so.
So after recounting, you know they had to count every barracks to see where-- if someone is missing. Word came that there is a young boy missing in my place. So fortunately, the German was tired by then. He was out for about two, two and 1/2 hours, waiting for all the counting to be done. So he marched up and down the 1,500 in my barrack, looked at the first young-looking face, and pulled him out and sent him in my place.
"Word came that there is a young boy missing in my place."
USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive, Interview 18433
Jack and his father both move to the left but are assigned to different barracks. Jack finds himself in a group of boys. By chance, he meets a friend of his family from Pabianice at the latrine that night, and the man takes him to his father. He stays, and when the guards count one too many at roll call the next morning and demand that the person who doesn’t belong step forward, Cemach holds Jack back. Eventually, it is determined that someone is missing in the boys’ group and, running out of patience, guards seize a random boy and send him to take Jack’s place.
Jack Adler's Timeline
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Jack Adler is born in Pabianice, Poland
Yakuv Szlama [or Szlomo] Adler (later: Jack Adler) is born to Cemach and Faiga Adler in Pabianice, a small city on the outskirts of Lodz in western Poland.
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Europe's Jewish population is c. 9.5 million
This number represents 1.7% of the total population of Europe, and accounts for >60% of the world's Jewish population. Most Jews are in eastern Europe: Poland is home to 3.3 million Jews, some 2.5 million Jews live in the USSR, and around 756,000 Jews live in Romania. The Jewish population of the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia numbers c. 255,000. In central Europe, Germany is home to c. 523,000. Some 445,000 Jews live in Hungary, 357,000 in Czechoslovakia, and 191,000 in Austria. There are also large Jewish communities in Great Britain (300,000), France (250,000, and the Netherlands (156,000). Some 60,000 Jews live in Belgium. The Scandinavian countries are home to c. 16,000 Jews. In the South, the Jewish community in Greece numbers c. 73,000. Yugoslavian Jews number c. 68,000, Italy and Bulgaria each have communities of c. 48,000.
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Dachau concentration camp established
Hitler's paramilitary SS (Schutzstaffel) establish the first concentration camp near Dachau for political opponents of the regime. Dachau remains in operation from 1933-1945. Over 200,000 people are imprisoned and estimated 41,500 are murdered during this period.
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Polish Jews number c. 3.3 million
Jews have been living in Poland for 800 years. On the eve of World War II, Polish Jews constitute the largest Jewish community in Europe, accounting for 10% of the country's total population.
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U.S.S.R. and Nazi Germany agree to non-aggression pact
Germany and the Soviet Union negotiate a non-aggression pact. This agreement, often called the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact after its chief negotiators, divides eastern Europe between the Nazi and Soviet powers and results in the partition of Poland.
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Nazi Germany invades Poland, sparking World War II
Nazi forces invade and swiftly defeat Polish forces using the "Blitzkrieg"--a rapid and combined forces attack. Within days, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.
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Nazi forces occupy Lodz and Pabianice, Poland
Invading German troops reach the city of Lodz and nearby Pabianice. They immediately introduce strict measures restricting the freedom of the Jewish population, in particular.
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U.S.S.R. invades Poland
The Soviet military occupies eastern Poland, as secretly agreed with Germany in the non-aggression pact signed by the two countries on August 23, 1939 (Molotov-Ribbentrop pact).
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Concentration of Polish Jews into ghettos ordered
Nazi officials order the concentration of Polish Jews in designated, often enclosed districts in major population centers in preparation for their deportation and murder. Ghettos are established throughout Nazi-occupied Poland.
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Annexation of western Poland
Following the Nazi occupation of Poland, territories in the western part of Poland are annexed to Germany. Danzig-West Prussia and Warthegau are incorporated as new provinces of the Reich; the provinces of East Prussia and Silesia are expanded to incorporate newly gained Polish lands.
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Generalgouvernement established in Nazi-occupied Poland
Nazis establish civilian administration over areas of Poland under German control that are not annexed to the Reich. The "Generalgouvernement" under the autocratic rule of Governor General Hans Frank encompasses four districts: Warsaw, Lublin, Krakow, and Radom.
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Pabianice Ghetto established
Beginning in November 1939, Jews residing in wealthier areas of Pabianice are ordered to leave their homes, which are intended for Germans. In February 1940, the Jewish population is condensed into a designated area of the town. Jews are not permitted to leave the ghetto, the perimeter of which is indicated by signs.
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Germanization of names in incorporated Poland
In areas of Poland under German administration, the names of Polish cities in the newly annexed territories are Germanized. Lodz is therefore also known as "Litzmannstadt."
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Lodz ghetto established
Approximately 164,000 Jews are concentrated in a ghetto in the Polish industrial city of Lodz. They perform forced labor for the Nazi war effort, living under squalid conditions of severe overcrowding and insufficient sanitation, food and water.
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Lodz ghetto sealed
The Lodz ghetto is sealed off from the rest of the city with barbed wire and fencing. Passage by Jews between ghetto and outside world is strictly controlled. Inside the ghetto, residents are forced to work in factories producing goods for the Nazi war effort. Many die of starvation and disease.
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Jews deported from Lodz ghetto to Chelmno
Nazi forces and collaborators begin the deportation of Jews from the Lodz ghetto to the Chelmno killing center, where deportees are gassed in vans. Approximately 65,000 Jews are ultimately deported and murdered.
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Wannsee Conference on the "Final Solution"
Leading Nazi officials convene at Wannsee to plan and implement the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question." At this meeting, operational preparations for the extermination of European Jewry are outlined.
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Deadline for "Final Solution" in occupied Poland
Heinrich Himmler orders that by December 31, 1942 there should be no Jews remaining in the Generalgouvernement, calling for a "total purge" to secure the German Reich.
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Nazi surrender at Stalingrad
After months of bitter fighting, the Soviet army is finally able to surround and trap German forces besieging the city. Of the nearly 250,000 troops that attacked the city in August 1942, some 90,000 surrender to the Soviets. The German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad marks a turning point in the war; Soviet forces will now advance and push the Axis to retreat.
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First prisoners arrive in Kaufering concentration camp
The first concentration camp at Kaufering is established with the arrival of 1,000 Jewish Hungarian men from Auschwitz. Kaufering will eventually become the largest subcamp complex in the Dachau system, with eleven camps located near Landsberg am Lech in Bavaria. It is also one of the most deadly Nazi labor camps: around half of the c. 30,000 prisoners sent to the Kaufering camps between June 1944 and April 1945 will die there. Prisoners in the Kaufering camps supply labor for the construction of underground aircraft production sites for the German airline industry, which has suffered heavy damage from Allied bombs.
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Liberation of Majdanek
Advancing Soviet troops reach the Majdanek concentration and extermination camp. They find gas chambers and other evidence of genocide. Approximately 2,500 survivors provide details of the camp to their liberators, who document the horrors. Majdanek is the first concentration camp to be liberated by the Allies.
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Liquidation of Lodz ghetto
Nazi forces liquidate the Lodz ghetto and deport between 60,000-75,000 Jews, as well as an unknown number of Roma, to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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American forces liberate Dachau
American troops reach Dachau and find approximately 32,000 inmates still alive, as well as 30 railroad cars with the corpses of prisoners who died in transport to the camp.
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Unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany's High Command unconditionally surrenders on 7 May to the Allies and 9 May to the Soviets. May 8 is proclaimed "Victory in Europe Day."
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US military opens hearings in Dachau trials
Between November 1945 and August 1948, the United States military holds hearings of camp guards, SS officials, and other personnel from the camps at Dachau, Flossenburg, Mauthausen, Nordhausen, Buchenwald, and Mühldorf. Of the 1,672 individuals tried before a military panel rather than a jury, some 1,400 are convicted. 297 are sentenced to death and nearly the same number to life imprisonment. Jack Adler provides testimony in advance of the trials.
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Truman Directive prioritizes displaced persons for U.S. visas
President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order granting priority to displaced persons (DPs) for visas to enter the U.S. The order is expressly intended to help orphaned children. While it does not expand the restrictive U.S. immigration quotas, it enables some 41,000 DPs from Central and Eastern Europe – many of them Jewish – to enter the country between December 1945-July 1948.
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Attacks on Jewish survivors in Poland
Attackers kill more than 40 Jewish survivors in Kielce, Poland. The attack spurs returning Jews to once again flee. Many find sanctuary in Allied displaced persons (DP) camps.
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Jack Adler sails from Bremen to New York
Sailing on the S.S. Marine Marlin from northern Germany, Jack is one of 928 passengers on one of the first post-war transports of refugees from Europe to the United States. They arrive in New York harbor during the night of December 22 and disembark at Ellis Island the next day.
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Jack Adler leaves New York for Chicago
After nearly a year and a half in New York, Jack learns that he has been placed with a foster family in Chicago and travels by train to meet them.
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Korean War begins
After World War II, Korea is partitioned at the 38th parallel, creating a socialist state under Soviet influence in the North and a Western-style democracy in the South. In June 1950, North Korea invades South Korea, armed by the Soviet Union. Under the banner of fighting the spread of communism, the United States leads a UN coalition in the conflict against North Korea, which is backed by communist Russia and China. An armistice agreement in July 1953 puts an end to the military conflict, but the division of Korea persists until today.
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U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Village of Skokie v. National Socialist Party of America
When a request by the National Socialist Party of America (NSPA) to hold a White Power rally in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, IL, is denied at the insistence of the town’s large Jewish community, which includes many Holocaust survivors, the NSPA files a claim for infringement of their right to free speech under the 2nd Amendment. The NSPA is represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, who successfully argue in favor of the universality of free speech under the Constitution, maintaining that the government does not have the authority to selectively suppress voices, no matter how unpopular the opinion.