Postcards That Tell a Story: Life Routines at the Lodz Ghetto, Poland

Abstract

This study explores postcards written in the Lodz Ghetto, which serve as a source of knowledge about their historical context. The postcards, by their very nature, reflect the social, demographic, and psychological processes among the ghetto inhabitants during their years of forced habitation. Postcards were found to be a primary source of information and an outstanding historical testament to that which occurred, moment by moment, at the time they were written. The study charts them by means of two extensive catalogues: The first is the “Catalogue of years”, which examines the historical events in the Lodz Ghetto from 1940-1945, as they appear in “The Chronicle of the Lodz Ghetto” versus their reflection or lack of reflection in the postcards. The second catalogue is the “Catalogue of postcards”, which presents a wide and detailed review of all the topics emerging from the postcards, relating to events in the ghetto by the chronological order in which they were written and sent, as a point of departure for their analysis. It is evident from the research findings that the postcards constitute, on one hand, an authentic and reliable source of information, while on the other they also present personal aspects, as much as permitted and possible. As a result, and through that written on them, it is possible to glean additional primary information on events in the ghetto in those days, in addition to the testimonies provided by letters and diaries. In this study, the life and conduct of the ghetto inhabitants are revealed through the most concise means ‐ the postcard, where that inscribed exposes us to human conduct conveying feelings, concerns, longing that emerged together with the need for the human existence and survival of people, their family, and community, in grave and fateful times. The research findings might have practical implications for commemoration of the Holocaust, for teaching, guidance, and learning, and for exposing mediators of the Holocaust to this unique cognitive, emotional, and ethical authentic source of knowledge. The postcards serve as an educational tool for preserving and imparting historical memory.