Testimony of Herman F. Graebe in Yad Vashem Studies, Volume VI

Daily Record Sheet of the Jewish Police (District I) in the Czestochowa Ghetto 1941-1942

In the spring of 1940, the German police ordered the Czestochowa Judenrat to set up a street movement control unit to curtail passage of Jews in the streets. It was composed mainly of Jewish youths who assumed some of the police responsibilities in the city. When the Jews were moved into the ghetto, this unit took over the duties of the police and became responsible for law and order. As these men and their families enjoyed certain perks, many undesirables attempted to buy their way in and the ghetto Jews grew to hate them. The Jewish police force was now put under charge of the Polish police who trained them for their duties. Each event and each order was recorded by number, date, and hour. Each report was classified under four categories: a. internal life of the Jews in the ghetto; b. the Polish police’s authority over the Jewish police; c. the instructions of the German authorities; and d. relations of the Polish population with the Jews of the ghetto. Each category was subdivided into many subjects covering a wide range of activities.