Objects

"There were dissenters living here when Warsaw did not want them. It was considered one of the most beautiful streets. And one of the healthiest because it was elevated more than 10 metres above the level of the Old Town Square. And one of the widest. Jews began to settle here in the second half of the 19th century. Later, it became the main street of the ghetto (...)" (J. Leociak, "Biografie ulic", Warsaw 2017, p. 179).

The above quote relates to Leszno Street, which was home to the owner or maker of this item — a tobacco filler. This is evidenced by the inscription on it: Leszno 24. The item was used to prepare homemade cigarettes. It was widely used starting from the early 20th century.

Leszno Street played a vital role in the life of Warsaw's Jews. In November 1940, it was included in the Warsaw Ghetto up to the intersection with Żelazna Street. Dubbed the "Ghetto's Marszałkowska Street", it soon became the Warsaw Ghetto's main street. Leszno was home to important offices, municipal courts, institutions, bars and cafés. It is important to note that such entertainment as cinema and cafes was only available to a handful of the ghetto's wealthiest residents and was beyond the reach of the rest — financially and mentally alike. It was home to the "Riviera" cinema, the "Femina" theatre, Izaak Gertner's Restaurant-Bar Central, the cafés "Sztuka" (probably the best-known ghetto café, most frequently mentioned in memoirs, managed by many owners over the years), "Splendid", "Negresko", and "Lourse", as well as "Żywy Dziennik" literary cabaret run, among others, by the famous poet Władysław Schlengel. Leszno was also a street of contrasts — from café glitz, restaurant noises, and outbursts of laughter to the terrifying horror of daily death.

The donor found the item while tidying up his aunt's home. It was stored in a desk drawer filled with many pre-war items that the aunt had kept for a very long time. Unfortunately, no one in the family remembers how the tobacco filler ended up at the aunt's home.

Natalia Różańska