Ghetto Litzmannstadt
The use of the killing centre at Chełmno for the mass murder of rapidly growing number of Jews deported to the Łódź Ghetto ("Special Handling", the "Sonderbehandlung") was initiated by Arthur Greiser, the Governor of "Reichsgau Wartheland". In a letter to Himmler dated Greiser referred to an authorization he had received from him and Reinhard Heydrich; stating that the clandestine program of killing 100,000 Polish Jews, about one-third of the total Jewish population of "Wartheland", was expected to be carried out soon. Greiser's plan was based on the German government's decision of October 1941 to deport German Jews to the Łódź Ghetto. Greiser and the SS decided to create space for the incoming Jews by annihilating the existing Polish-Jewish population in his district.