A very important aspect for the context of construction of the model is its location inside a historical building, former ghetto railway station – currently Radegast Station. From 1941, this place served the function of a transit point for the food and resources intended for ghetto inhabitants. From January 1942, nearly 145 thousand people were transported from this place to Kulmhof extermination camp in Chełmno on Ner and to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Today, the preserved building constitutes an element of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto Extermination Monument established in 2004. As a memorial site, due to the lack of a separate museum of the history of Łódź ghetto, it somehow serves the role of such an institution.
Within the first stage of the project, resource base was established, including accessible archive materials concerning the topography of the ghetto. The collections included in total over 2.5 thousand maps, architectural plans, photographs as well as aerial photographs. They were obtained from the archives, and thanks to the support from foreign partners, also from private collectors from all over the world. The base is complemented by currently performed photographs of all preserved buildings and objects from the area of the former ghetto. Over 6 thousand photos were performed in total. The analysis of the collected material made it possible to decide on constructing the physical 1:400 scale model presenting the ghetto in May 1942, with the dimensions of 10 x 4 m. In this shape it constitutes the largest exposition object of this kind in Poland.
Main tasks that were supposed to be performed consisted in identifying the buildings (basing on not always complete source materials) and then locating them on the network of streets. The support of enthusiasts, often not professional historians, turned out to be very helpful, as their knowledge of the city’s topography is often impressive. One place was reconstructed many times basing on a limited number of photos seen from different perspectives or constituting only the background, for example for group photographs. The color scheme was reconstructed basing on the preserved color photos, pre-war design documentation as well as joint experts’ consultations and the analysis of scientific literature.
At present, the fragment consisting of about 40% of the model is presented and its completion is scheduled for the end of the year 2019. It is of major importance in the context of this year’s 75th anniversary of liquidation of the Łódź ghetto.
Together with the construction of the model, works are conducted around the project website www.radegast.pl. Its aim is to provide information concerning the project as well as historical knowledge devoted to the ghetto. It consists of 8 educational theme paths including historical sites. They form a walk through modern streets within the city. In this way the educators, teachers and guides receive ready-made material for conducting educational classes, including also the walks through still preserved area of the former ghetto.
Model of hospital no. 1.. Photo: MTN
Model of the ghetto. Scale 1:400; Photo: MTN
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