Bands ordered by the ghetto post office with the inscription „Former Poland”
(Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi)
One of the elements of the Germanization policy pursued by the occupying authorities was the change of the names of towns and streets. The name of Łódź was been changed. In honor of the Prussian World War I general, Karl Litzmann, on April 11, 1940 Łódź became Litzmannstadt. The renaming was commemorated on a special plaque on Freedom Square (by then renamed Deutschland Platz).
The new name appeared on the official prints of the ghetto, referred to as Litzmannstadt-Getto, in order to show the relationship between the excluded district and the city on the one hand, and its separateness on the other.
The ghetto Post Department modified the prints and stamps to include the new name.
The envelopes stamped with the date April 11, 1940 are just a collector’s items, as the ghetto post office was not allowed to stamp German stamps, and the date tag was used only on special occasions and for internal purposes.
Those that sent letters and parcels to the ghetto were not always aware of the new name of the city and the fact that it belonged to a new territorial unit, namely Wartheland annexed into the Reich. Many people used the Polish name or, not understanding the meaning of the change, “Germanized” it as “Lódzmannstadt”, for example.
Bands ordered by the ghetto post office with the inscription „Former Poland”
(Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi)
Postcard sent to Rumkowski with the names Litzmannstadt and Łódź
(Spungen Family Foundation)
Postcard sent to the ghetto with the name Lódzmannstadt
(Spungen Family Foundation)
Envelope with a date stamp with the name Łódź and Litzmannstadt
(Spungen Family Foundation)
Envelope with a date stamp with the name Łódź and Litzmannstadt
(Spungen Family Foundation)
Stamps with the date and Łódź and also Litzmannstadt
(Spungen Family Foundation)
Front side of a card sent to Helga Schmidt in Leipzig with information about the renaming of the city on Furer's instructions. It was also signed by Arthur Greiser and probably Friedrich Uebelhoer.
(Spungen Family Foundation)
Backside of a card sent to Helga Schmidt in Leipzig with information about the renaming of the city on Furer's instructions. It was also signed by Arthur Greiser and probably Friedrich Uebelhoer.
(Spungen Family Foundation)
