“The Jews’ Underground City” – Issue of Ilustratia Săptămânii (“Picture of the Week”), March 23, 1941 – A Central Antisemitic Article Depicting the Jewish Ghetto as “The Jews’ Underground City, ” Describing It as a Hiding Place for Wealth Allegedly Stolen from the Nations of the World, and Reporting on the “Filthy” Lives of Jews in the Lublin Ghetto. The Romanian Ilustratia Săptămânii was a pro-Nazi newspaper that regularly published anti-Jewish propaganda.
After the Nazis confined Jews to ghettos and created unbearable living conditions, they portrayed Jewish life in the ghetto as if it were the “natural” place for the “despicable people”—a deceitful and vile propaganda tactic orchestrated by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. The front page and main article mockingly report on a raid by the German police in the Lublin Ghetto, where hidden goods were allegedly discovered in underground cellars. The headline on the cover reads: “The Jews’ Underground City, ” accompanied by a large photograph captioned: “A Jew caught in one of the tunnels of the Jews’ underground city… We descended the stairs—three floors, paint peeling in all directions, and more stairs—we thought this path would never end until we reached this maze of corridors, 25 meters beneath the ghetto, in the Jews’ underground city…” (Excerpt from the SS soldiers’ report on the ghetto raid.)
Inside the issue, a feature article titled “The City Beneath the Ground – A Visit to the Ghetto” mocks the filthy Jewish ghetto from which Jews allegedly emerged to take control of the global economy: “Ghetto! Everyone envisions a neighborhood with twisted and dirty streets, crumbling houses, children in rags with greasy faces wandering aimlessly, bearded men with sidelocks scurrying like ants, conducting business with hand gestures in the filthy streets. Small shops where you can buy everything—from a nail for a bicycle to a box for a car wheel. A neighborhood untouched by civilization. From these ghettos, many Jews went out into the world, conducted business, accumulated wealth, and became tycoons who oppressed millions of people. They manipulated state affairs cunningly, from behind the scenes. They led society, controlled culture, and, of course, completely forgot where they had come from. They assimilated to better advance their international goals. Today, in almost every part of Europe, wooden walls are being built around Jewish quarters, enclosing the ghettos.
A group of journalists visited such a ghetto in a Polish city. What struck us as unusual at first were the buckets—something strange in our world but common in these neighborhoods, where there is no sewage system. We wanted to enter one of the houses lining the street to give our readers, at least through photographs, a glimpse of life here. But from the doorway, we abandoned the idea of going further. An unbearable stench filled the room, where a man lay sleeping in his clothes while his wife and children stared at us indifferently. We wandered further into the ghetto, losing our appetite. Shopping took place on the sidewalks; customers grabbed meat from a basket, inspected it, and if dissatisfied, threw it back—until another customer picked it up and took it home to enjoy, of course, with great pleasure. In the ghettos, business happens everywhere—buying and selling to resell again, everything from food to utensils, clothing, and more. Because we have seen everything…”.
The writer continues, describing, according to SS reports, how goods and coins were discovered in the Jews’ underground tunnels deep within the ghetto: “In a few minutes, we set out with a unit to the ghetto. It was night. We stopped in front of one of the houses that we had passed indifferently during the day. What secret could possibly be hidden here? The suspected Jew was ordered to lead us to the location. We entered. A subterranean labyrinth opened before us. We descended the stairs—three flights, three floors, and again more stairs—we thought this path would never end. Only the Jew knew where he was leading us. The way might be dangerous. But the officer, having encountered such cases before, showed a tense yet confident and determined demeanor. We followed him 25 meters beneath the ghetto, finally reaching the Jews’ underground city. As they heard our footsteps, they stopped their work in fear: they had been sorting through secret coins, hoarded… for times of crisis, of course. Before us lay enormous amounts of fabrics, sacks filled with various foodstuffs, boots. They raised their hands in surrender—on their right arm, the armband with the Star of David, the symbol of the ‘chosen people.’ We had discovered one of the largest hidden warehouses in the ghetto. From a darkened hole in the wall, a Jewish face appeared, bearing the true features of Ahasuerus. At last, the inspection was complete. The guilty ones were forced to carry their own hidden goods up to the surface. They breathed heavily, sweat streaming down their foreheads. We climbed the stairs, all of us leaving the ghetto, naturally watched by the curious and frightened eyes behind the filthy, dark windows. And we thought: this is how the ‘chosen sons’ of God live—in poverty above ground, while in their cellars and tunnels lie immense hidden treasures…”
The article is accompanied by photographs documenting how the Jews were caught by SS officers: Jews surrendering with raised hands. A Jew emerging from a hole, described in the article as a “rat, ” next to a sack of potatoes. A Jew carrying buckets of water in the ghetto, with the mocking caption: “This was strange to us, but in these neighborhoods without sewage, it is quite familiar.” Jews inspecting goods in the market, with the caption: “Shopping took place on the sidewalk. Customers grabbed the meat from the basket, turned it over, and if they didn’t like it, threw it back until another customer took it home to enjoy, of course, with great pleasure.” Nazi soldiers leading Jews out of the tunnel, with the caption: “The guilty ones were forced to carry their goods to the surface themselves.” A Jewish mother and her child inside their home, with the description: “From the doorway, we abandoned the idea of going inside—the stench filled the room, where the man lay sleeping in his clothes, his wife and children staring at us…”
The issue contains additional articles on SS women in uniform, Munich—the National Socialist city, European racial theories, cinema, and more.
It should be noted that the reported event took place on December 4, 1940, approximately three months before this article was published in this issue. It was first published in the Nazi German newspaper Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung on December 5, under the headline “A City Beneath a City in the Lublin Ghetto, ” detailing a Gestapo police raid on the ghetto tunnels. That German issue originally published the same photographs of the ghetto Jews that later appeared in this Romanian edition. (The German issue is on permanent display at Yad Vashem Museum.)
24 pages. Complete issue. Fold mark at the center. Spine reinforced with adhesive tape. Good condition.
