The scale was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Metal balance scale with two circular weighing pans. The frame has four, small metal feet with three decorative horizontal bars, with remnants of yellow paint, spanning between them on the front and back. The lower bar is straight with geometric shapes spaced across it, the middle bar curves downwards around a circular piece in the center, and the top bar is thin and straight. Spanning the upper bars is a metal piece with rounded ends that connects to a horizontal, pivoting framework with brackets on each end for holding the circular pans in place. From the center of the piece, extending upward, is a thin, pointed needle with measuring lines etched on the surface. Attached to the back of the frame, bent at a 90 degree angle, and then extending upward so it rests directly behind the center needle, is a second flat, pointed needle with a circular opening towards the top. The metal weighing pans are a silver-colored metal with a flat bottom and rimmed top. The left pan is approximately 1.500 inches deep, and the right pan is approximately 2.250 inches deep and has a pointed spout on the side. The surface of the scale is severely rusted, and there is significant paint loss.
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overall: Height: 12.000 inches (30.48 cm) | Width: 20.500 inches (52.07 cm) | Depth: 8.500 inches (21.59 cm)
Metal measuring scale with two trays, of the type used in the Łódź Ghetto in German-occupied Poland from May 1940 to August 1944. Łódź was occupied by Germany a week after the September 1, 1939, invasion of Poland. The city was renamed Litzmannstadt, and in February 1940, approximately 160,000 people from the Jewish population were confined to a small, closed ghetto. All residents had to work, and many became forced laborers in ghetto factories. Eventually, nearly 100 factories were in operation. The major ones produced textiles, including uniforms for the Germany Army. Due to the severe overcrowding and scarcity of food, disease and starvation were common. The Judenrat (Jewish Council) were forced to administer the ghetto for the Germans. Judenrat chairman, Mordechai Rumkowski, thought hard work and increased manufacturing output would preserve the ghetto, but in January 1942, mass deportations to Chelmno killing center began. By the end of the year, half of the residents were murdered. In summer 1944, Łódź, the last ghetto in Poland, was destroyed, and the remaining Jews were sent to Chelmno and Auschwitz-Birkenau killing centers.
Metal balance scale with two measuring trays used in a store