A real silver cigarette case belonging to the director of the Lodz ghetto prison was handed over to the “Shem Olam” center by a Pole who held it for a decade in his home after finding it.
The cigarette box, made of real silver, was given to the prison director by Jewish artist Chaim Kliger who was in the Lodz ghetto, to secure the release of one of his friends from prison.
On the box is the name of Solomon Herzberg, the ghetto prison director who was a commander in the Jewish ghetto police force. Perhaps because of the valuable bribery, Kliger managed to free his friend from prison, saving him from being sent to labor camps or to an unknown destination, as was the fate of most of the prisoners.
The box was amazingly preserved even after years of being buried among the ruins and ghetto houses. It eventually landed in the hands of a Pole who held it for a decade in his home, after he found it among the ruins of buildings in the Lodz ghetto.
The Polish man later contacted “Shem Olam” International Center, who were able to bring the rare item to Eretz Israel.
Though Chaim Kliger survived the Holocaust, he died in the 1950s in Israel and have the opportunity to witness the discovery of fine piece of art that saved the life of his friend from prison in the ghetto.
“This is a very special item, one that was not customary at the time, certainly not during World War II, and Chaim Kliger decided to give this item as a bribe, even though he knew it was an extraordinary work of art, in order to save his friend’s life,” the director at “Shem Olam” International Center said.
{Matzav.com Israel News}
