Updated: 17-05-2025
Added: 30-07-2023
The Coal Department was established on May 8, 1940, as an institution reporting to the Department of Food Supply. It remained so until January 1, 1941. Appointed head of the Department was Mr. Luzer Najman. In August of 1942, there was a change, and Mr. Izrael Zylbersztrom was made the new head. At the time it was established, i.e.,
May 8, 1940, it employed 10 persons
May 8, 1941, 520
May 8, 1942, 570
May 8, 1943, 702
May 8, 1944, 423
May 8, 1940, it employed 10 persons
May 8, 1941, 520
May 8, 1942, 570
May 8, 1943, 702
May 8, 1944, 423
Administratively, the Department is divided into the following groups: unloading crew of shovelers, yard workers who carry what the shovelers unloaded, demolition crew working inside the ghetto, cart drivers who bring wood from demolished structures to yards, workers in charge of scales and mechanical saws, crews for sorting wood, groups of craftsmen in charge of equipment maintenance, and a technical crew responsible for keeping the area in order. The Department has two yards at 10 Mickiewicza St. and 47 Łagiewnicka St., the latter of which has a siding and is therefore used as a reloading site. Initially, instead of the yard on Mickiewicza St., the Department had one much more convenient for such purposes, located at 29 Łagiewnicka St.
Except for 40 full-time workers, all others are paid hourly wages, with average earnings ranging between 3–3.5 Mk per day; they also receive two soups a day and the L.S.N ration1. The crews work three shifts, mostly in unhealthy conditions as a result of floating dust.
In the period from its establishment until the end of March 1944, the Coal Department distributed 51 million kg of coal, 28 million kg of briquettes and 13.5 million kg of wood exclusively from demolition.
M. Nowak