Sondergericht Litzmannstadt Special Court Litzmannstadt Sąd Specjalny w Łodzi (Sygn.196)

The Special Court (Sondergericht) was established on Sept. 22 1939, when the first group of judges arrived in Łódź, headed by the Director of the national court, Dr. Artur Welz. The Sondergericht judged economic cases, political cases (e.g. possession of a weapon, criticism of the Nazi regime, radio monitoring, contacts with P.O.W.s, assistance to the persecuted), as well as crimes against good morals. The Sondergericht covered the area of Łódź and neighboring counties. Its main objective was to adjudicate in cases concerning crimes against the state and regime. There was no appeal against the verdicts.

Forms part of the Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This archive consists of documentation whose reproduction and/or acquisition was made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

After the liberation, the archives were protected by the Polish authorities, and in 1945-1953 were kept by the archives of the District Court in Łódź, then by the Provincial Court. Finally after initial arrangement archives were transferred to the State Archive in Łódź (Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi). Source of acquisition is the Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi, Poland, Sygn.196. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum received the filmed collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archival Programs Division in 2014.