Robbery in the Ghetto
The property of the Jews was alienated in its entirety. The houses and flats belonging to Jews who had been evicted by the German command to the ghetto and left the city during the war were already taken over by the city administration on 15 September. By this time, most of the abandoned housing had been looted. The property from the flats left behind by the owners who had left for evacuation or fled from the bombing to the countryside began to be broken down and plundered even before the Germans arrived. This phenomenon became so widespread that the new authorities banned the transport of furniture around the city without valid permits. Ownerless property was taken to warehouses or given to new flat owners for rent.
Jews in the ghetto had some things with them: hidden valuables, money, at least clothes. Before execution, people were searched, forced to undress, had all their jewellery removed and their gold teeth knocked out.
The ghetto area, which was emptied in October 1941, was also looted. Despite the number of guards, not only movable but also immovable property was plundered, everything that could be dismantled and carried away. The valuables were to be turned over to the Reich treasury, but almost every German official involved looted for himself as well.