The stove was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Primus alcohol stove with a brass fuel tank, a central burner unit, and three vertical legs. The short, cylindrical fuel tank has a rounded top and underside, and a lower edge that juts out. English text is stamped and engraved on the top, and stamped in a circular arrangement on the underside. Cyrillic text is stamped on the side. To the right of one leg, a twisting, pump assembly knob is fitted into the side of the tank. A short, cylindrical tube is soldered on to the top of the fuel tank near the edge. The tube is capped with a tank lid stamped with English text, and an air release knob extends out, perpendicular from one side. Extending vertically from the center of the fuel tank is a cylindrical, rising tube that connects to a small, shallow, circular spirit cup and the burner unit above. The unit consists of two vaporizing u-shaped tubes with a circular burner cap fitted onto the top. The cap has an X across the center. A metal band sits around the center of the tubes, and a nipple jet rises out of the U bend in the central tube. The legs are soldered on to the sides of the fuel tank. They curve out at the bottom into small feet, and extend up to curve in towards the burner unit at the top. The stove is stained and scratched overall with a green patina on the bottom. The legs and the burner are heavily rusted.
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overall: Height: 8.125 inches (20.638 cm) | Width: 7.250 inches (18.415 cm) | Depth: 7.625 inches (19.368 cm)
Primus brand alcohol stove 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. In the ghetto, people attempted to maintain their normal lives, despite the increasing hardships. Women, when they were not laboring in the factories, worked to prepare food and do laundry for their families. These activities were made difficult by the meager food rations they received, and the lack of running water throughout most of the ghetto. Due to the severe overcrowding and scarce 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 high outputs 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.
Primus brand, No. 1 model, alcohol stove