Eli Mikulinser
The Most Tightly Sealed Ghetto in Europe: A Study of Isolation in the Lodz Ghetto and How it was Experienced by the Ghetto Population, 1940-1944
2022 | Full access
In this thesis the topic of isolation and the Lodz Ghetto will be addressed. The isolation of the Lodz Ghetto contained features that in their extremity make the case of Lodz unique. While the notion that the ghetto in Lodz was isolated has been well-recorded, research about the exact meanings and consequences that such a major characteristic had on its population has so far been lacking in scholarly literature. Accordingly, by turning to diaries, memoirs, testimonies, and other forms of egodocuments, this thesis aims at finally addressing the question: How did the Jewish population in the Lodz ghetto experience their isolation? This will be achieved by first discussing the extent of the isolation and investigating continued connections between the ghetto and the outside world. Then, the portrayals that the ghetto population expressed regarding their isolation will be in focus, by looking for articulations dealing with the state of being more or less cut off from the rest of the world. Finally, this thesis will also research the consequences of isolation by taking a closer look at how isolation affected how the ghetto inhabitants viewed their future and their ability to imagine themselves beyond the limits of the barbed ghetto wires.
Supervisors:
Prof. Dr. Andrea Löw
Prof. Gordon J. Horwitz