Bidspirit auction | Food Ration Card from the

Food Ration Card from the Łódź Ghetto - June 1942 - Nahrungsmittel-Karte Nr. 101537 – Der Aelteste der Juden in Litzmannstadt Verpflegungs-Abteilung - Daily Food Ration Card (Nahrungsmittel-Karte) issued in the Łódź Ghetto (Litzmannstadt Getto) by the Der Aelteste der Juden (Elder of the Jews), for the ghetto resident Naftali Grussner. June 1942. The card, numbered 101537, was issued by the Ghetto Supply and Food Department (Verpflegungs-Abteilung) for the ghetto resident Naftali Grussner. His address in the ghetto was Fisch (Rybna Street), No. 11, Apartment 14. The distribution point (Verteilungsstelle) is recorded as No. 25. At the upper right appears a date stamp indicating the month of issue: June 1, 1942. At the bottom appears the official circular ink stamp of the Office of the Elder of the Jews in Łódź: ”Der Aelteste der Juden in Litzmannstadt, ” together with the signature of the official registration clerk. On the reverse is a table printed in red for recording distribution points for vegetables (Gemüse), dairy products (Molkerei), meat (Fleisch), and sausage (Wurst). The card is surrounded by numbered detachable coupons (Nos. 24–100), which were used to obtain the meager bread or food rations. Some of the coupons have been removed, bearing witness to the cardholder's struggle for survival in the ghetto. On the reverse appears a handwritten notation in Polish and German recording Naftali's medical history in the ghetto: ”Chory przebywał w szpitalu Nr. 4” (”The patient was hospitalized in Hospital No. 4”), from 2.VI.1942 (June 2, 1942—only one day after the card was issued) until 9.VI.1942 (June 9, 1942). Beside the entry appears the signature of a medic or physician and the notation ”Kartoteka” (”Record Card”). At the top is a red inscription with the medical file number: ”10356.” A large X has been drawn across the food card, together with a partial ”GESTORBEN / GESTRICHEN” (”Deceased / Cancelled”) stamp, indicating that the card was closed and taken out of use, apparently following the holder's death. Unlike other ghettos, where the supply of food and basic necessities depended to a significant extent on smuggling from outside the ghetto, this was virtually impossible in the Łódź Ghetto because of the strict enforcement imposed by the German authorities. The Jewish population was entirely dependent upon the German authorities and the Judenrat for food, medicine, and other essential supplies. As a result, hunger and disease spread through the ghetto with devastating severity. Approximately 164,000 people were forced to crowd into an area of only four square kilometers, of which merely 2.4 square kilometers were suitable for habitation. In 1944, the ghetto was finally liquidated by the Nazi authorities. 20x14 cm. Good condition.