The decision to liquidate the Lodz Ghetto was taken in the spring of 1944. To accomplish this, the Germans reactivated the Chelmno extermination camp, which had previously been closed. Deportations to Chelmno, disguised as transports to labor camps in Germany, began on June 23. A transport moratorium occurred between June 15 and July 6, and the deportations were re-routed to Auschwitz on August 7. Quarter by quarter, the ghetto was quarantined and combed. Each area was declared off-limits; anyone found there, faced death. The trapped Jews sought shelter in every way possible, in the hope of surviving until the Red Army could liberate the town. Liberation seemed imminent until, in late July, the Soviets changed the direction of their advance. Despite the fact that the ghettoΓÇÖs wooden buildings did not lend themselves to the construction of hideouts, many were built. Until the liberation occurred, the Germans combed the ghetto and removed more and more Jews from their hideouts.
