 |
| On October 8, 1939, Oberburgermeister Hans Drechsel ordered the establishment of a ghetto in Piotrkow Trybunalski, which was the first ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe. The Jews had to move into the designated ghetto area within three weeks. The ghetto was marked by signposts bearing the word Ghetto, in gothic script above a white skull and cross-bones on a blue background. The ghetto area was open, there was no fence around it. |
I am writing here, on JimbaoToday-blog, about Jewish Piotrków Trybunalski with a starting date of September 5, 1939. That was the date when Germans entered Piotrkow. Actually, the killing of Jews began immediately. As in other cities with a big Jewish population, a Jewish Council -Judenrat - was appointed In early October 1939.
On October 8, 1939, Oberburgermeister Hans Drechsel ordered the establishment of a ghetto in Piotrkow Trybunalski, which was the first ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe. The Jews had to move into the designated ghetto area within three weeks. The ghetto was marked by signposts bearing the word Ghetto, in gothic script above a white skull and cross-bones on a blue background. The ghetto area was open, there was no fence around it.
On December 1, 1939, Oberburgermeister Hans Drechsel ordered that 1,000 Jews had to report for forced labor every day. In 1940, all the Jews of Piotrkow over 10 were required to wear a white armband on their sleeves with a blue Star of David.
Men between 25 and 48, born between 1914 and 1923, had to register for forced labor by the Judenrat office in March 1940. Then in August 1940, almost 1,000 men and boys, some only 16 years old, were sent to labor camps in the Lublin area to fortify the new German-Soviet border.
Several local companies -such as the Kara and Hortensja Glassworks; the Petrikauer Holzwerke -wood factory- owned by Dietrich and Fischer, also known as the 'Bugaj'; the Ostbahn; Kreisgenossenschaft; and Phoenix - began to employ Jews, while young workers were given priority. Those engaged in the glassworks learned new crafts, which was very hard. About 1,100 Jews worked in the Kara and Hortensja factories, as glass breakers and blowers.
