Radegast Station Memorial

Radegast Station Memorial is a preserved railway station in northern Łódź that from 1942 to 1944 was the main point of deportation from the Litzmannstadt (Łódź) Ghetto, and people visit to grasp the fate of the ghetto's inhabitants. Tens of thousands of Jews and Roma were loaded onto trains here and sent to the Chełmno and Auschwitz extermination camps. Today the site is a branch of the Museum of Independence Traditions, combining the original station building with a long memorial tunnel, freight wagons and a commemorative monument.

The memorial keeps the original station structure alongside historic freight wagons of the kind used in the deportations, so the scale of what happened is set out in physical form rather than description alone. A long commemorative tunnel runs through the site, and a monument marks the spot where the transports left. The combination of authentic wagons, the preserved platform and the memorial architecture makes this one of the most direct Holocaust sites in the city.

Between 1942 and 1944 Radegast (in Polish, Radogoszcz) functioned as the departure station for the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, the sealed district into which the German occupiers forced the Jewish population of Łódź and deportees from elsewhere. From these platforms tens of thousands of people, Jews and Roma, were sent to the Chełmno and Auschwitz extermination camps, most never to return. The station is therefore central to understanding how the ghetto was emptied and why so few of its inhabitants survived.

This is a place for anyone who wants to understand the history of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto rather than a casual sightseeing stop, and it rewards a quiet, unhurried visit. Every August the city holds a memorial service and a march that links the Jewish Cemetery to Radegast Station, which is a significant time to come if you want to see the site remembered collectively. For opening hours, current exhibitions and event dates, check the Museum of Independence Traditions before you travel, as details can change.

Radegast sits in the Bałuty district in the north of the city, on ul. Stalowa, the area that once formed the ghetto, so it pairs naturally with a wider walk through that part of Łódź and the nearby Jewish Cemetery. Reaching it is straightforward as part of a day focused on the city's wartime history rather than its industrial or design attractions. See our Łódź guide for how the memorial connects with the rest of the city and how to plan your time.