| dc.description.abstract | In 1914 The Jewish Community in the city of Łódź was comprised of 162,500 residents. During
the Great War that number dropped to 137,200 people, which equaled 40.1% of the total population
of Łódź. The beginning of World War I saw the municipality in conflict over the recent election
of a local rabbi, Lejzor Trajstman, and weakened by the absence of the Community Board. The
new Community Board elections (conducted on 25th October 1914) as well as the introduction
of new laws by the German occupants regulating activity in the Jewish communities inside the
area of the administrative district of the General Government of Warsaw allowed the municipality
to function as efficiently as was possible.
The new laws placed the responsibility for social welfare of the co-religionists on the Community
Board. This became the central element of all decisions and actions of the Community Board
body between 1914 and 1918. First and foremost, it was necessary to combat the ubiquitous poverty,
hunger, and unemployment. With the help of its agencies and other subsidized institutions, the
Jewish Community attempted to reach the most needy. It funded the pre-existing charitable organizations,
hospitals, and shelters. It began to organize help for orphaned children placing them with
Łódź families and newly established orphanages. In order to ease the life of its poorest, it created
cheap soup kitchens and teahouses. It also supplied the co-religionists with fuel for stoves, Passover
bread, and other holiday products. Despite all the efforts, however, the municipal government
and the rabbis, including the head rabbi Lejzor Trajstman, did not manage to meet social expectations.
As existing sources indicate, modest funds were only sufficient to satisfy a small fraction
of the community’s needs. The ongoing war with all its deprivations pauperized the Jewish population
and deepened the level of poverty, malnutrition, and disease. | pl_PL |
