Łódź commemorates the dissolution of the Litzmannstadt ghetto
Guests from Chemnitz take part in the memorial service to mark the 80th anniversary
On Thursday 29 August, Chemnitz's twin city Łódź commemorates the 80th anniversary of the dissolution of the Litzmannstadt ghetto.
Dr Ruth Röcher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz, and Cornelia Siegel, Head of the Department of European and International Relations, Protocol of the City of Chemnitz, accepted the invitation of the Mayor of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska, and laid flowers and candles at the official memorial service.
Among other things, they visit the Jewish cemetery and the Radegast Station, a memorial at the former railway station in Łódź, from where more than 150,000 Jews were deported to concentration camps in 1944.
The 29th of August is a symbolic date for this - in August 1944, the last inhabitants of the closed district were deported from the Łódź ghetto to Auschwitz-Birkenau by the German occupying forces. The ghetto was later dissolved.
Łódź and Chemnitz have been twinned for 50 years. To mark the anniversary, there were reciprocal visits by representatives of the city of Chemnitz and the business community as well as a concert tour of the Chemnitz Municipal Theatre to Łódź.
Before the war, Łódź was an important centre of Jewish culture, science and trade. Today, the former industrial metropolis is the fourth largest city in Poland, has successfully redeveloped its industrial factories and developed into an important centre of industry, culture and art.