As one of the oldest streets in Łódź, Wolborska Street was an integral part of the city's Jewish district and a major center of commerce. Wolborska connected the Old Market Square with the streetmarket on Wschodna Street (Szachermarkt), where kosher…
In the 1937 Polish film, Piętro wyżej (One Floor Up) the foxtrot “Sex Appeal” was performed by the unforgettable Eugeniusz Bodo impersonating (in drag) none other than Mae West. As an actress renowned for her overt sexuality and risqué wit, West…
At a local night shelter, homeless men stand or sit on cots constructed from nailed-together boards. Shabbily dressed men with overgrown beards and mustaches strike a pose for a group photo. While most of the men wear caps, a few are sporting brimmed…
At the center of this postcard photo featuring Sienkiewicz Park stands a fountain in the shape of a swan surrounded by cherubs. It is encircled by a flowerbed in full bloom. People enjoying the park stroll about or rest on benches, conversing and…
A man identified as Bolesław Traczykowski (the photographer, Włodzimierz Pfeiffer shared this name with us in his description of the photo's negative) poses and smiles in front of a signboard. Station XI of the "Drop of Milk" program was the last one…
This photo pictures some dozen Jewish boys at their studies in a cheder. The Melamed (teacher), seated at the center of the school bench, is surrounded on both sides by boys reading from books. Other boys wait patiently behind the bench.
Summer day camps were organized by the local government of Łodź, and offered on a regular basis to public-school children aged 7–14 and recruited (irrespective of ethnicity or religion) from the poorest working-class neighborhoods. Summer day camps…