A new exhibition in Łódź charts the remarkable history of the Polish city’s Jewish Ghetto, which during World War Two functioned like a fashion house, producing clothes for the Third Reich.
Under the finery was a tale of suffering, hunger and fear, and of Jews desperate to survive.
Debuting on Thursday at the Textile Museum, ‘The Fashion System’ documents how the Nazis exploited the city’s rich manufacturing tradition to clothe not just the Wehrmacht, but also the Third Reich’s civilians.
This helped stave off the Ghetto’s liquidation, making it the longest functioning Ghetto during the war.
Debuting on Thursday at the Textile Museum, ‘The Fashion System’ documents how the Nazis exploited the city’s rich manufacturing tradition to clothe not just the Wehrmacht, but also the Third Reich’s civilians.
This helped stave off the Ghetto’s liquidation, making it the longest functioning Ghetto during the war.
For centuries, Łódź had existed as a minor farming community. However, the Industrial Revolution saw it emerge as a major textile hub; in the space of a few decades, it became the beating heart of the Russian Empire’s manufacturing industry.
Drawn by the promise of prosperity, migratory waves of workers flocked to Łódź, many of them Jews, and many of them highly skilled tailors, cobblers, textile workers and designers. This fact was not lost on the Germans when they occupied the city in 1939.
Under the Nazis, the city was rechristened Litzmannstadt, and its Jews imprisoned within a sprawling Ghetto that was to become the second largest in the Reich. For the Nazis, it would become the most useful.
Drawn by the promise of prosperity, migratory waves of workers flocked to Łódź, many of them Jews, and many of them highly skilled tailors, cobblers, textile workers and designers. This fact was not lost on the Germans when they occupied the city in 1939.
Under the Nazis, the city was rechristened Litzmannstadt, and its Jews imprisoned within a sprawling Ghetto that was to become the second largest in the Reich. For the Nazis, it would become the most useful.
Hans Biebow, a former coffee trader, was appointed the Ghetto’s chief of administration, and he quickly realized that he could utilize the captive workforce to enrich both the Reich and himself.
The Ghetto’s Jewish leader, Chaim Mordechai Rumkowski (a controversial figure who reveled in his power), also recognized the value of the Ghetto’s captives—by showing the Nazis that the Jews could provide an indispensable service, they had a better chance of collective survival.
As a result, the Ghetto quickly became a major manufacturing center.
The Ghetto’s Jewish leader, Chaim Mordechai Rumkowski (a controversial figure who reveled in his power), also recognized the value of the Ghetto’s captives—by showing the Nazis that the Jews could provide an indispensable service, they had a better chance of collective survival.
As a result, the Ghetto quickly became a major manufacturing center.
“So-called departments were established in the ghetto, and most of them were involved in textile production,” the exhibition’s co-curator, Karolina Sulej, told Poland’s PAP press agency, “and women, men and even children worked there—because they wanted to live. They worked for a bowl of soup and a chance to survive.”
History books have often claimed that around 90% of production directly benefited the Wehrmacht, but this inflated figure had been falsely advertised by Biebow, who had simply sought to preserve his money-spinning racket.
“He made these claims to prolong its existence, building its image as a place important for the war effort—but the latest research shows that 50% of production went to the civilian market, and this included luxury items such as hats, dresses, underwear,” says Sulej.
History books have often claimed that around 90% of production directly benefited the Wehrmacht, but this inflated figure had been falsely advertised by Biebow, who had simply sought to preserve his money-spinning racket.
“He made these claims to prolong its existence, building its image as a place important for the war effort—but the latest research shows that 50% of production went to the civilian market, and this included luxury items such as hats, dresses, underwear,” says Sulej.
As extraordinary as it may seem, the Ghetto—in many respects—functioned like a legitimate fashion house. Look books were created, photo shoots held, and production exhibitions were hosted, all in a bid to create a ‘brand’ that would appeal to Nazi officials.
No effort was spared, and the exhibited items include skillfully compiled albums and ads designed to ‘sell’ the competencies of the Ghetto to potential German investors.
“Catalogues were created and sent to Germany,” says Sulej. “Jewish misery, suffering hunger, exhaustion, and fear were covered by fashionable gilding.”
No effort was spared, and the exhibited items include skillfully compiled albums and ads designed to ‘sell’ the competencies of the Ghetto to potential German investors.
“Catalogues were created and sent to Germany,” says Sulej. “Jewish misery, suffering hunger, exhaustion, and fear were covered by fashionable gilding.”
While Jewish models were used to pose in many of these catalogues, their faces would often be cut out and replaced by drawings of Aryan characters with Valkyrie-style hair. Other times, faces would simply be darkened to the point of being silhouetted out.
“This disguised the fact that all this had been created by Jewish hands,” says Sulej.
“This disguised the fact that all this had been created by Jewish hands,” says Sulej.
The museum also lends a voice to the otherwise anonymous Jewish slaves who kept the machinery of the Ghetto rolling, as well as their own efforts to keep abreast of fashion. At a time when Jews had been reduced to a subhuman footing, maintaining a sense of fashion was, says Sulej, a way of demonstrating their resilience and will to live.
Eventually, however, in 1944 the Litzmannstadt Ghetto outlived its purpose and was liquidated over summer on the orders of Himmler.
Unlike the Warsaw Ghetto—the only Ghetto that was larger—it was not subsequently leveled, and the exhibition makes a point of presenting haunting ‘then and now’ images of buildings that were used. Uncomfortably, some continue to be used in the manufacture of textiles.
Eventually, however, in 1944 the Litzmannstadt Ghetto outlived its purpose and was liquidated over summer on the orders of Himmler.
Unlike the Warsaw Ghetto—the only Ghetto that was larger—it was not subsequently leveled, and the exhibition makes a point of presenting haunting ‘then and now’ images of buildings that were used. Uncomfortably, some continue to be used in the manufacture of textiles.
This is not the only thought-provoking aspect, and the exhibition also subtly makes note of the fashion industry’s continued exploitation of society’s disadvantaged.
“We did not want to directly compare the situation in the Ghetto to clothing production in the global south, but rather to emphasize that certain mechanisms of violence related to fashion still function,” says the exhibition’s co-curator, Paweł Michna.
“Recipients are not aware of the conditions in which their clothes are produced. The [contemporary] artistic works [commissioned for the exhibition] allowed us to add this context,” he adds.
“We did not want to directly compare the situation in the Ghetto to clothing production in the global south, but rather to emphasize that certain mechanisms of violence related to fashion still function,” says the exhibition’s co-curator, Paweł Michna.
“Recipients are not aware of the conditions in which their clothes are produced. The [contemporary] artistic works [commissioned for the exhibition] allowed us to add this context,” he adds.
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