challenging to decide which of the interpretations indicated above may be considered the appropriate one. Unfortunately, no accounts or documents have survived that could confirm the proposed chronology of the depicted events.
Just as the history of the building's creation is undiscovered, it is also baffling how the fragile work survived the war. No information is available in this regard – some of the ghetto museum's exhibits likely survived in the area of the liquidated "closed Jewish destrict". Following the end of the war, the object became part of the Central Jewish Historical Commission's collection, then operating in Łódź – to Department VI of the Museum. Then, in 1947, to Warsaw and transformed from the Commission to the Jewish Historical Institute. The only image of the model from this period comes from the publication A Year's Work of the Central Jewish Historical Commission, published in 1946. It must also have been damaged at the time. Two small buildings are missing, located at the right edge of the model.
This fascinating object was only presented for the first time in 2020 in Łódź, at the site of its creation. Thanks to the cooperation of three institutions: The E. Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Łódź and the Museum of Independence Traditions in Łódź, where it is currently on temporary display – in the Radegast Station Branch. However, this significant event was curtailed by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The museum's temporary closure and subsequent restrictions on its availability affected the number of visitors who would have had the chance to see this unique object. It is all the more pleasing that its exposition will be extended until February 2022.
All contemporary photographs of the diorama come from the E. Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute's collection in Warsaw, pic. Grzegorz Kwolek JHI.