The Lodz Ghetto

    Salomon Hercberg Arrest and Resettlement of the Lodz Ghetto Prison Commandant

12 March 1942

The Hercberg affair has made for one of the greatest sensations in the annals of the ghetto thus far. The “Hercbergiada” will no doubt stand out in bold relief in the history of our Ghetto. Who was Hercberg?

A tall obese man of some forty-odd years, bursting with health, splendidly dressed, he was one of the most popular figures among the leading representatives of the ghetto’s administration.

His prison commandant’s cap, adorned with thick gold braid, like the beautiful gold- embroidered armband he wore, set him apart from those around him. He was a child of the Balut neighbourhood. In this neighbourhood he had worked as a projectionist in a third rate theatre before the war.

it is said that he was initially taken on for the post of Order Service commissioner on the basis of documents he presented that showed him to have been an officer in the Polish army. The authenticity of those documents is doubtful to say the least.

In June 1940, he was arrested by the German authorities on a charge of concealing a radio. He was kept in the Radogoszcz camp for several months. After his release in the fall of 1940 he was appointed to the post of commandant of the prison here, which was at the time, in the process of being established.

After some time Hercberg’s authority increased significantly. He became chief of the Order Service precinct in Marysin and, at the same time, head of the administration of Marysin II.

 
Read the full story here:
http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/ghettos/Lodz/hercberg.html

The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team

www.HolocaustResearchProject.org

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