Carved wooden box handmade and used in the Lodz Ghetto 2004.630.3 closed
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Washington, United States
Handmade carved wooden box used in the Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland. It has the year 1932 etched in the lid with a later addition of the year 1940 and the name Estera Tannenbaum Hersz. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and one week later occupied Lodz. They renamed it Litzmannstadt and in February 1940 relocated all the Jews, roughly 100,000 people, into a sealed ghetto. Prewar Lodz was a thriving industrial city and the ghetto continued to be an important manufacturing center. Daily life and social and economic activity in the ghetto was handled by a Council of Jewish Elders who reported to the German authorities. There were continual food shortages and death from starvation was common. By September 1942, the Germans had deported the majority of the residents to Chelmno killing center. The ghetto was destroyed in May 1944.
Handmade carved wooden box used in the Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland. It has the year 1932 etched in the lid with a later addition of the year 1940 and the name Estera Tannenbaum Hersz. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and one week later occupied Lodz. They renamed it Litzmannstadt and in February 1940 relocated all the Jews, roughly 100,000 people, into a sealed ghetto. Prewar Lodz was a thriving industrial city and the ghetto continued to be an important manufacturing center. Daily life and social and economic activity in the ghetto was handled by a Council of Jewish Elders who reported to the German authorities. There were continual food shortages and death from starvation was common. By September 1942, the Germans had deported the majority of the residents to Chelmno killing center. The ghetto was destroyed in May 1944.
- Title: Carved wooden box handmade and used in the Lodz Ghetto 2004.630.3 closed
- Provenance: The box was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Rafal Imbro., The box was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by Rafal Imbro.
- Subject Keywords: Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Lodz. Jewish ghettos--Poland--Lodz. Wood-carving--Poland--Lodz--20th century. World War, 1939-1945--Poland--Lodz., Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Lodz. Jewish ghettos--Poland--Lodz. Wood-carving--Poland--Lodz--20th century. World War, 1939-1945--Poland--Lodz.
- Type: Containers, Containers
- Rights: Permanent Collection, Permanent Collection
- External Link: See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, See the full record at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Medium: Rectangular, stained, varnished, brown wooden box with carved reliefs, rounded corners and a hinged lid. On the lid exterior is a carved relief of a male lion in flying gallop under a tree with a leafy horizontal bough on a patterned, textured background. In the upper right are etched dates and a letter; the more recent date, 1940, is scratched and appears to be a later addition. There are etched dates and German text in the same style along the lid front and side edges. The sides of the lid extend downward and are carved with 2 interlocked rows of alternating rectangles that form decorative top borders for the side and front base carvings. Each base panel also has a vertical column of circles within a rectangle on each side. The front base panel has a carved relief of a man aiming a rifle over a dog chasing a stag. The right and left side carvings have a circle flanked by scrollwork. The back base panel carving has 2 large flowers with horizontal leafy stems. There is a rectangular cut out in the top base interior where a locking mechanism used to be. The exterior edge has 2 small holes on each end of the rim carving where a closing pin would have been inserted. Each corner of the box has a carved, nearly 3-dimensional column. The base and lid interior have penciled text, numbers, and numerical equations. The underside is unfinished plywood with missing sections. There are some chips, gouges, and scratches and wax and dirt residue., Rectangular, stained, varnished, brown wooden box with carved reliefs, rounded corners and a hinged lid. On the lid exterior is a carved relief of a male lion in flying gallop under a tree with a leafy horizontal bough on a patterned, textured background. In the upper right are etched dates and a letter; the more recent date, 1940, is scratched and appears to be a later addition. There are etched dates and German text in the same style along the lid front and side edges. The sides of the lid extend downward and are carved with 2 interlocked rows of alternating rectangles that form decorative top borders for the side and front base carvings. Each base panel also has a vertical column of circles within a rectangle on each side. The front base panel has a carved relief of a man aiming a rifle over a dog chasing a stag. The right and left side carvings have a circle flanked by scrollwork. The back base panel carving has 2 large flowers with horizontal leafy stems. There is a rectangular cut out in the top base interior where a locking mechanism used to be. The exterior edge has 2 small holes on each end of the rim carving where a closing pin would have been inserted. Each corner of the box has a carved, nearly 3-dimensional column. The base and lid interior have penciled text, numbers, and numerical equations. The underside is unfinished plywood with missing sections. There are some chips, gouges, and scratches and wax and dirt residue.
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