A personal gift from Rumkowski to the children of the ghetto – a Shanah Tovah (New Year’s) greeting from the head of the Judenrat in the Łódź Ghetto, Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, announcing to the children of the ghetto the distribution of three slices of bread and five candies in honor of Rosh Hashanah 1941.
The message, printed on the voucher itself, appears in Yiddish and reads: “Tate un Mame! [Father and Mother!] To the adults of the Jews of the Łódź Ghetto. I am sending you here a nutrition voucher for a warm evening meal, especially for your little children between the ages of 2–7 years. (The deadline for receiving the bread will be announced in a separate notice.) Likewise, I am also sending each of you a special voucher for five tasty and sweet candies from my factory. Give them to your sweet children. And may they eat them in good health. I bless you with a good and sweet New Year. Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski.” On the right-hand side appears a separate tear-off coupon confirming receipt of the gift. It reads: “The eldest son hereby signs that he has received the voucher for the child… for five candies… and the bread voucher…”.
At the beginning of the ghetto period, over 20,000 children lived in the Łódź Ghetto, but their situation was among the harshest. The children suffered from extreme hunger, disease, and overcrowding. Initially, some schools operated in limited capacity, but they were closed by the Nazis in 1941, forcing education into the underground. Since most children were deemed unfit for labor, they were considered “useless” by the German authorities and were among the first to be deported. During the major deportation known as the “Great Szpera” in September 1942 (also called the Devil’s Aktion), approximately 15,000 children were torn from their parents and sent to the Chełmno extermination camp—where they were murdered. The Łódź Ghetto was left almost entirely without children thereafter.
Rumkowski himself had run an orphanage before the war and frequently claimed that children were a significant part of his life. In the first months of the ghetto’s existence, the Judenrat made efforts to provide for the children’s needs. One known and poignant photograph shows Nachman Zonabend, a postal worker and the man responsible for food distribution to the ghetto’s children, handing out candies during Hanukkah 1941.
Only a few surviving examples of this voucher are known in the world today! They were discovered in a storage room along with other items from the ghetto—most of which were damaged in a fire.
20×10 cm. Stains on the left side. Good condition.
