Armband

The Housing Department in which the owner of the armband worked belonged to several departments established by Chaim Mordechai Rumkowski, chairman of the Jewish Council (German Judenrat) to organise all areas of life in the Lodz ghetto. In addition to the Housing Department, which managed the housing management in the ghetto, the most important ones also included the Department of Food Allocation (responsible for the distribution of supplies provided by the German authorities), the Department of Social Welfare, the Department of Health (managed seven hospitals, five clinics and seven pharmacies), the Department of Education and the Administration Department (which coordinated forced labour in the ghetto). The headband is made of undyed linen fabric. Almost half of the band's surface (along its length) was embroidered with a black thread (most likely synthetic). It is an inscription in Yiddish האָוסינג אָפיס (Polish Housing Department). A rectangular strip of fabric was sewn on the side opposite the embroidery with the seam on the inside of the wearer's arm. The material is secured with a lining along the top and bottom edges.

Marta Frączkiewicz