Division

A factory in ghetto parlance. The final “t” in the word “ressort” is pronounced.

When the ghetto was established, Chairman Rumkowski created the so-called “Arbeits- Ressort” – Labor Division. The Division was in charge of organizing the production of the ghetto as well as workshops and factories. Full-time officials, irrespective of the factory, wore an armband inscribed “Arbeits-Ressort”. Over time, the term “ressort” started to be applied to any workshop or factory. No one ever spoke of tailoring or metal factories, as everyone used the word “ressort” exclusively. However, officially it referred only to the Central Bureau of Labor Divisions.

In public announcements or in contact between the German and the Jewish administrations concerning such establishments, only the words “workshops” and “factories” appeared. The ghetto, however, refused to acknowledge this. It only knew “ressort kitchens, ressort soups, ressort director, ressort doctors, ressort official.” As for “ressort soup,” the phrase “ressort dinner” was more common. The name “ressort” also found its way to semi- official documents as well as the official ghetto calendar.

Oskar Singer