The Story of Chaim Rumkowski and the Jews of Lodz
Encyclopedia
The Story of Chaim Rumkowski and the Jews of Łódź is a 1982 documentary
that uses archival film footage and photographs to narrate the story of one of the Holocaust's most controversial figures. Rumkowski was a Jew that was put in charge of the Łódź ghetto during World War II
.
Rumkowski, a childless sixty-two-year-old man with billowy white hair and black circular glasses, was appointed Elder of the 230,000 Polish
Jews in the Łódź Ghetto. He created an industry
within which Jews could work and make themselves useful to the Nazis to avoid the slaughter of the Holocaust. But his record of establishing an oasis
for Jews is overwhelmed by the fact that to appease the Nazis he handed over almost the entire population to Nazi extermination camps. If Rumkowski would have survived the war he could have either been honored for the lives he tried to save or executed for his collaboration with the Nazis. Shocking old photographs and the only surviving film footage of the Łódź ghetto serve as the visuals for a documentary that asks how much people should be willing to compromise to survive.
It seems that at the dawn of his power, Rumkowski was full of good intentions. He established hospitals, organized a fire department, set up a government
, and cleaned the ghetto streets. Factory work gave the inhabitants a sense of purpose, and social welfare programs and institutions provided order and a feeling of community. At Łódź, Jews didn't die in the streets; instead, they died respectfully in hospitals. And of the industry he made there he said,"Our children and our grandchildren will recall with pride the names of those who gave us the opportunity to work and the right to live." In that speech to ghetto inhabitants, he continued, "We have only our production to thank for our survival."
But then when the Nazis began to demand Łódź inhabitants be relocated to extermination camps, Rumkowski selected who would be sent away and asked that they leave without hostility. He began by sending away the Ghetto's criminals but eventually pleaded that parents allow him to send away their children.
Chaim Rumkowski's story raises difficult moral questions regarding power and compliance. "We must cut off the legs to save the body," Rumkowski asserted. But at what point should the body fight to save its legs? When does compliance become collaboration?
While Rumkowski assured his Jewish followers that he was fighting to save their lives, bargaining with the Nazis led him to a crucial error. He, like the Nazis, began to see people as numbers and not as individuals. The incredible film footage of Łódź that the documentary offers, brings to life one of these numbers Rumkowski decided to spare or send away.
The same complexity that's found in Rumkowski's character is manifested in the Łódź ghetto itself. The thriving textile industry
in the ghetto might have kept its inhabitants alive, but the goods they produced were a tremendous service to the Nazis. The Jews in the ghetto, unknowingly, helped build and facilitate concentration camps through Europe. They fed the hand that bit them.
gave the documentary a positive review. It described the film as "fine," "moving," and said it, "should be seen."
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that uses archival film footage and photographs to narrate the story of one of the Holocaust's most controversial figures. Rumkowski was a Jew that was put in charge of the Łódź ghetto during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Summary
"I must stretch out my hands and beg," Rumkowski declared to the Łódź ghetto inhabitants, "Brothers and sisters—Hand them over to me! Fathers and mothers—Give me your children!" With these words, a man who once directed an orphanage pleaded for Jewish parents to peacefully surrender their children to extermination camps.Rumkowski, a childless sixty-two-year-old man with billowy white hair and black circular glasses, was appointed Elder of the 230,000 Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Jews in the Łódź Ghetto. He created an industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
within which Jews could work and make themselves useful to the Nazis to avoid the slaughter of the Holocaust. But his record of establishing an oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
for Jews is overwhelmed by the fact that to appease the Nazis he handed over almost the entire population to Nazi extermination camps. If Rumkowski would have survived the war he could have either been honored for the lives he tried to save or executed for his collaboration with the Nazis. Shocking old photographs and the only surviving film footage of the Łódź ghetto serve as the visuals for a documentary that asks how much people should be willing to compromise to survive.
It seems that at the dawn of his power, Rumkowski was full of good intentions. He established hospitals, organized a fire department, set up a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, and cleaned the ghetto streets. Factory work gave the inhabitants a sense of purpose, and social welfare programs and institutions provided order and a feeling of community. At Łódź, Jews didn't die in the streets; instead, they died respectfully in hospitals. And of the industry he made there he said,"Our children and our grandchildren will recall with pride the names of those who gave us the opportunity to work and the right to live." In that speech to ghetto inhabitants, he continued, "We have only our production to thank for our survival."
But then when the Nazis began to demand Łódź inhabitants be relocated to extermination camps, Rumkowski selected who would be sent away and asked that they leave without hostility. He began by sending away the Ghetto's criminals but eventually pleaded that parents allow him to send away their children.
Chaim Rumkowski's story raises difficult moral questions regarding power and compliance. "We must cut off the legs to save the body," Rumkowski asserted. But at what point should the body fight to save its legs? When does compliance become collaboration?
While Rumkowski assured his Jewish followers that he was fighting to save their lives, bargaining with the Nazis led him to a crucial error. He, like the Nazis, began to see people as numbers and not as individuals. The incredible film footage of Łódź that the documentary offers, brings to life one of these numbers Rumkowski decided to spare or send away.
The same complexity that's found in Rumkowski's character is manifested in the Łódź ghetto itself. The thriving textile industry
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
in the ghetto might have kept its inhabitants alive, but the goods they produced were a tremendous service to the Nazis. The Jews in the ghetto, unknowingly, helped build and facilitate concentration camps through Europe. They fed the hand that bit them.
Reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the documentary a positive review. It described the film as "fine," "moving," and said it, "should be seen."
Awards
In 1982, The Story of Chaim Rumkowski and the Jews of Łódź won an Interfilm Award- Honorable Mention at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-HeidelbergInternational Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival is an annual film festival held jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The festival was established in 1952. In Mannheim there are six cinema centres and 19 single cinemas.The festival presents arthouse films of...
.
See also
Other Holocaust Documentaries:- LubomlLubomlLuboml may refer to:* Liuboml, a city in Ukraine* Luboml: My Heart Remembers, a documentary...
- Paradise CampParadise CampParadise Camp is a 1986 documentary about Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Unlike other Holocaust camps, Jews entered Theresianstadt willingly, even eagerly, because Nazi lies led them to believe it would be a peaceful retreat. The deception continued even after it was clear...
- The Sixth BattalionThe Sixth BattalionThe Sixth Battalion is a 1998 documentary film that examines the little known history of Jewish soldiers who fought for the Slovak Republic, which was closely aligned with Nazi Germany during World War II...
- They Were Not SilentThey Were Not SilentThey Were Not Silent is a documentary about the Jewish Labor Committee's anti-Nazi movement in America before, during and after World War II. The film features rare archival footage and photographs along with interviews with labor veterans, Holocaust survivors and scholars...
- Pola's MarchPola's MarchPola's March is a 2001 documentary made by Jonathan Gruber about a Holocaust survivor, Pola Susswein's emotional trip back to her childhood home in Poland after fifty years spent in Israel, trying to forget her painful past.-Summary:...
- Marion's TriumphMarion's TriumphMarion's Triumph is a 2003 documentary that tells the story of Marion Blumenthal Lazan, a child Holocaust survivor, who recounts her painful childhood memories in order to preserve history. The film combines rare historic footage, animated flashbacks, and family photographs to illustrate the...
- ShoahShoah (film)This page is about the film by the name of Shoah. For other uses, see Shoah Shoah is a 1985 French documentary film directed by Claude Lanzmann about the Holocaust...