November 1940

On 16 November, the ghetto is closed. Its inhabitants are forbidden to leave it without a pass. The new, tragic chapter in the history of Warsaw Jews has begun.

December 1940

"Koźla street - a small, quiet, border street full of old houses. At a glance: nothing to make one suspicious. However, when the right signal was given, ordinary troughs would cunningly go over the wall, milk, groats, and sugar spilling down them. Someone's coming! The troughs would retract, assume their usual, innocent positions and remain still."

June 1941

Religious life in the ghetto continued, even though the Germans forbade the people living there from gathering for prayer, in synagogues or in private apartments.

July 1941

Culture and entertainment found their place in the ghetto - in the theatres, cabarets, cafes, and restaurants within its walls. In April 1941, Emanuel Ringelblum counted 61 entertainment establishments in the ghetto but their actual number was greater.

August 1941

Trade in the ghetto had many faces: from direct trading and street commerce that took place via small commercial outlets - markets, stalls, stands, small shops and shops, to Pierwsza Hala Nowoczesna [First Modern Hall] at 44 Leszno St.. The most popular form of trade was street trading, even though the authorities tried to curb it by means of introducing orders that stipulated penalties for those who traded outside of the area specifically designated for that purpose.

September 1941

Rachela Auerbach, a writer, journalist, and translator, was among the people who hiding in the Żabiński villa. In the ghetto, she ran a soup kitchen for the public at 40 Leszno St., known as the "kitchen for literary people." She herself belonged to Oneg Szabat and cooperated with Emanuel Ringelblum.

January 1942

The construction of the wooden bridge over Chłodna St, at its intersection with Żelazna, the largest engineering project in the ghetto, started in December 1941. The bridge was supposed to handle communication between two parts of the ghetto.