Cigarette case that may have saved life in Holocaust brought to Israel

A finely crafted silver cigarette case that may have saved a life in the Lodz Ghetto has been brought to Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

A finely crafted silver cigarette case that may have saved a life in the Lodz Ghetto was handed over to the Faith & the Holocaust Institute for Education & Research, also known as the Shem Olam Institute, and transferred to Israel, Ma’ariv reports.

The case belonged to the director of the prison in the ghetto. It bares his name, Shlomo Soloman Hertzberg, and the symbol he wore on his arm denoting his rank as prison director.

Chaim Klieger, an artist, gave Hertzberg the case as a bribe in order to free a friend who was in the prison, or at least ease the conditions in which he was held, according to Ma’ariv. The fate of most of those in the Lodz Ghetto were labor camps or unknown destinations, the paper reports.

Remarkably, the cigarette case survived the war and was found among the ruins of the ghetto walls by a Polish man who kept it for a decade before handing it over to the Shem Olam Institute.

It’s unknown for certain if Klieger’s gift succeeded in freeing his friend. Klieger himself survived the war and immigrated to Israel, where he died in the 1950s.

“We’re talking about a very special object that wasn’t found during that period, certainly not during the days of the Second World War,” said the head of the Shem Olam Institute. “The artist decided to pass this object as a bribe, even though he knew it was an outstanding creation of art, in order to save the life of his friend. The fact that the case survived after so many years testifies to the quality and artistry.”