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The Agudath Israel Youth Group in Marishin, an area of the Lodz Ghetto, marches in front of Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, the chairman of the Judenrat in the ghetto.
Some 250,000 Jews in the Lodz Ghetto were deported to their deaths. Located in Central Poland, Lodz had the second largest Jewish community in Europe prior to World War II. Rumkowski was a controversial figure who was torn between helping the Jews survive and giving in to the demands of the Germans. He believed that productivity would spare the Jews from death, and was responsible for establishing 120 factories, which employed thousands of the ghetto’s Jews. However, Rumkowski gave in to German demands for deportation; some consider him a traitor for his cooperation.
Some 250,000 Jews in the Lodz Ghetto were deported to their deaths. Located in Central Poland, Lodz had the second largest Jewish community in Europe prior to World War II. Rumkowski was a controversial figure who was torn between helping the Jews survive and giving in to the demands of the Germans. He believed that productivity would spare the Jews from death, and was responsible for establishing 120 factories, which employed thousands of the ghetto’s Jews. However, Rumkowski gave in to German demands for deportation; some consider him a traitor for his cooperation.