Auction 68 Jewish and Israeli History and Culture
Sep 19, 2019 (Your local time)
Israel
 8 Ramban St, Jerusalem.
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LOT 224:

Handwritten Booklet in Honor of the Head of the Judenrat, Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski – Purim 1941

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"Mishloach Manot… 5701" (Hebrew), a handwritten booklet made for the festival of Purim and presented to the head of the Judenrat of the Lodz Ghetto, Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski. [Lodz], 1941.
The booklet, presumably made by a resident of the Lodz Ghetto, contains several word plays in the spirit of Purim: the author's name was encoded within a verse written on the title page (some of the letters are marked and when combined reveal the Hebrew name Ya'akov Brickman); the second page features seven blessings, arranged in the form of a Star of David; and the third page features an acrostic poem – the first letters of the lines spell the Hebrew name "Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski". The booklet also features three interesting inscriptions - a Hebrew inscription on the title page reads "From the yeshiva students, [?]irska 43/45" (Hebrew); another Hebrew inscription on the same page reads "I address my verses to the King, my tongue is the pen of a ready writer" (Psalms 45:2); the third inscription, written in Yiddish on the back of the last leaf, reads "to the elder of the Jews of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, Mr. M.C. Rumkowski".
Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski was the chairman of the Judenrat of the Lodz Ghetto during all the years of its existence. Rumkowski, considered one of the most controversial figures in the history of the Holocaust, created a cult of personality around himself during his years as head of the Judenrat: organizing parades, hanging his picture at schools, issuing banknotes and postage stamps with his portrait and more. In 1944, he was sent together with the remaining prisoners of the ghetto to the Auschwitz Extermination Camp.
[4] leaves (two sheets folded in half, stapled to form a booklet). Approx. 30.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains and creases. Fold lines. Small tears along edges. A small open tear to the first leaf (slightly affecting the text).

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