An ad about reducing the borders of the Lviv ghetto in preparation for its final liquidation - in the midst of the ...

An ad about reducing the borders of the Lviv ghetto in preparation for its final liquidation - in the midst of the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews of Lviv. June 15, 1942

ANORDNUNG des Stadthauptmanns in Lemberg über die Bildung eines jüdischen Wohnbezirkes in der Stadt Lemberg - "Decree of the governor of the city of Lemberg on the establishment of a Jewish residential quarter in the city of Lemberg". June 15, 1942.

Announcement from the Generalgouvernement ["General Administration for the Occupied Territories"] on behalf of the Governor of the city of Lemberg, Dr. Heller, about new borders for the Lviv ghetto as part of the reduction of the ghetto's area to half its area - the announcement is part of an instruction given as part of the progress of the Nazi plan to eliminate the ghetto, and it is given about a year after its establishment in June 1941, after thousands of Jews had already been sent to be exterminated to Belzec camp and the Janowska concentration camp. The announcement establishes the new street border for Jews only, from the north, south, east and west, and that the place of residence of the Jews now defined outside the ghetto area will be occupied by German residents. Thousands of Jews were forced to leave their homes and squeeze inside the small area that was now defined as the new borders of the  ghetto. It is written that the period designated for the actual implementation of the ghetto area reduction plan will start at June 20, 1942 and should end by September 20, 1942. It is also written that residents who refuse to leave their homes at the appointed times will be forcibly evicted from their homes.

Lviv was occupied by the Nazis in June 1941 as part of 'Operation Barbosa', and immediately the murders of the Jews began in collaboration with the local Ukrainians. Starting in July 1941, the Jews were forced to mark themselves with an armband with a blue Star of David, and a Judenrat was established in the city, headed by Joseph Farnes. On November 8, 1941, a decree was issued ordering the establishment of a "Jewish residential quarter" accompanied by a map marking the boundaries of the quarter as well as a schedule for execution that included a plan, according to which the city was supposed to be "free of Jewish elements" by December 14. According to the meticulous plan of the Nazis, the operation to establish the ghetto was completed in December, and it was populated by approximately 120,000 Jews. As soon as the boundaries of the ghetto were defined, the Nazis began sending the Jews to extermination. The courtyard of the Sobieski school was chosen as a concentration and gathering place, where a selection was made, after which those who were found unfit for work - mainly old people, women and children - were transferred to the train station near to the Janowska camp, from where the shipments left for the extermination camp in Belzec. Between March 16 and April 1, 1942, about 15,000 residents of the Lviv ghetto were sent to extermination in Belzec. After this series of transorts, about 86,000 Jews remained in the ghetto.

At this stage, with the increase in shipments for extermination, and due to the emptying of the ghetto of Jews, the Nazis decided to reduce the ghetto's borders to half of its area, and published the binding order before us to reduce the area of ​​the ghetto. About two months later, during the month of August 1942, the "Great Action" was held in the ghetto. The Jews were concentrated in several collection points in the ghetto, some were selected for work, some were shot on the spot, and the rest were sent in ten shipments to Belzec. At the end of the "Great Action", on September 1, 1942, the head of the Judenrat, Henrik Landsberg, was executed by hanging, along with members of the Jewish police. About 35,000 people remained in the ghetto after the action, of which about 15,000 were "illegal residents". The area of ​​the ghetto was reduced to half of its original area, and officially only those with work permits could stay there.

On June 1, 1943, it was decided to liquidate the ghetto for good. in a joint effort by the SS, German and Ukrainian police forces, and the Hitlerjugend youth. The SS and police forces blew up buildings and underground bunkers that were used as hiding places for Jews, exterminated about 3,000 Jews in the ghetto, and sent about 7,000 others to the Yanovska camp where they underwent selection. Most of them were shot on the spot, and apparently some were also sent to the Sobibor extermination camp. The last Jews of Lviv were rounded up in Binowska and executed on November 18, 1943. When the Red Army entered the city on July 26, 1944, between 200 and 300 Jews who survived in hiding were found in Lviv and its surroundings.

42x30 cm. Stains. Tear in the upper right corner. Signs of being torn from a wall on the back of the poster. Overall good condition.