Przemysłowa Street in Łódź: Violence against Children in a German Camp

Why children were imprisoned

The Museum of Polish Children states that the camp was created on 1 December 1942 and that the first children arrived ten days later. Those sent there included children burdened by their parents' activities, refusal to sign the Volksliste, orphanhood or accusations such as vagrancy. Even infants were imprisoned. The commandant was Friedrich Camillo Ehrlich. [1]

Violence remembered by a survivor

The IPN cites Maria Prusinowska-Migacz's testimony concerning Eugenia Pohl. The guard made the release of a food parcel conditional on crawling and kissing her feet. Refusal ended in beating with a stick and kicking. This is an account of a concrete act of abuse, not merely a general label for camp conditions. In 1974, Pohl was sentenced by a Łódź court to 25 years' imprisonment. [2]

A system of punishments and a cautious total

The museum description lists hard labour, starvation rations, theft of parcels by staff, cold and illness. Punishments included beatings, restriction of food, isolation and assignment to a penal company. The museum estimates 2,000–3,000 children imprisoned and nearly 200 deaths; records were partly destroyed. [1]

Tomasz Toborek identifies 76 surviving death certificates and a cautious estimate of one hundred and several dozen deaths. The difference from the museum's rounded figure must remain visible. The old figure of 12,000 prisoners gives no basis for calculating thousands of deaths by subtracting the number of survivors. Each figure describes a different category of records or estimate. [3]

Limits of the findings

There is no complete nominal total. The museum's 'nearly 200' and the estimate of 'one hundred and several dozen' must not be presented as an identical established number. Testimony about Pohl's violence does not attribute to her all camp deaths. [1] [2] [3]

Sources and notes

Footnote markers identify the basis for specific findings. Bibliographic records remain in their original language; the notes indicate how each source is used.

The bibliographic record and source-use note are retained in Polish to preserve the original scholarly citation.

1. opracowanie muzealne. Fakty o obozie / Facts about the camp. Muzeum Dzieci Polskich – ofiar totalitaryzmu.

   opracowanie instytucjonalne · Punkty dotyczące powstania, powodów uwięzienia, personelu, warunków, kar i bilansu · Dostęp: 2026-09-05.

   Use of this source: Organizacja, Ehrlich, kategorie dzieci, warunki i współczesny bilans muzealny.

2. opracowanie instytucjonalne; przytoczone świadectwo Marii Prusinowskiej-Migacz. Nie miała litości dla polskich dzieci. IPN.

   opracowanie instytucjonalne · Fragment o relacji Marii Prusinowskiej-Migacz i wyroku z 2 kwietnia 1974 r. · Dostęp: 2026-09-05.

   Use of this source: Indywidualny przypadek znęcania się Eugenii Pohl i skazanie.

3. Tomasz Toborek. Obóz przy Przemysłowej w Łodzi – piekło dla najmłodszych. IPN / Przystanek Historia.

   opracowanie instytucjonalne · Fragment o liczbie więźniów, 76 aktach zgonu i szacunkach; tekst oparty na „Biuletynie IPN” 3/2022 · Dostęp: 2026-09-05.

   Use of this source: Ograniczenia bilansów i krytyka zawyżonych dawnych liczb.