As with many Holocaust sites across Eastern Europe, Radegast Station - from where as many 200,000 Łódź Jews left for the death camps of Chełmno and Auschwitz – has only recently been accorded the honour and respect it deserves. It has been thoughtfully restored as a place of remembrance, and though it is a long walk from the centre of Łódź, it is well worth a visit. Three original Deutsche Reisebahn cattle trucks stand poignantly at the station’s platform with their doors open, as if another trainload of Jews is imminent. Though most visitors are tempted to enter the waggons, almost none actually do. Elsewhere there are large signposts - in the shape of headstones - denoting the destinations of the trains which left here: Stutthof, Ravensbruck, Chełmno, Auschwitz. There are also plaques commemorating the Jews of Vienna and Luxembourg, who were transported to the death camps after transiting through the ghetto. The plaque from the city of Vienna is suitably, simply repentant: “The city of Vienna commemorates its citizens in mourning and in shame.”
There are now two permanent exhibitions in the museum: "Litzmannstad Getto 1940-1944" and "Kufer Rodziny Schwarz." The "Kufer Rodziny Schwarz" exhibit is based around a suitcase which was found in the attic of a building near ul. Organizacji WiN. This suitcase belonged to the Schwarz family which probably died in the death camp in Chełmno near Ner River. A temporary exhibition "Zabrano nam dzieciństwo 1939-1945" about martyrdom of kids in Łódź, is available until spring. Continue along the alley to see some poignant murals of children (you’ll see more later at stop no. 3) from the Jewish ghetto before returning in the direction of Doły tram stop as it is near here you will enter the Jewish Cemetery.
Radegast Station
Open
Open 10:00-16:00. Sat, Sun 10:00-17:00, Closed Fri.
Exhibits can be seen one hour before closing. Closed Fri.
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