The Offending Camp Chimney
by J.D.Chew
When the Lodz Camp (HKP 20) was opened (it had been in pre-war days an old dye works) it was
very run down and depressing and there were limited toilet facilities for 115 men.
Central Yard of Lodz Camp
The two storey building (on the right hand side of this photograph) had been an old boiler house in its factory days and running below under the right/hand single building (in the fore ground) was a brick lined smoke flue the led to a l00ft chimney stack (which is not in the picture).
Our Camp Leader made application for more toilets through the Camp Commandant who agreed that they were needed. On looking round the premises, they came across this underground smoke flue and decided it would make an ideal cesspit.
So our camp carpenter (Kiwi) a New Zealand lad was given the job to produce extra toilet seats over the old smoke flue. Being a very practical Colonial type, Kiwi spent the next few evenings going round the camp and measuring the length of the thighs of all the camp and also the width of their buttocks and he then prepared his 'custom built' set of new toilet seats built on a slight slope and the seats of varied size so that the tall the short the broad and the slim could be catered for, with seats to suit all.
The toilets were officially opened, and early on each day, after initial hot drinks, it was found that when all the seats were occupied such toilet paper that was used, was virtually sucked from ones hand, down into the pit, because of the draft caused by the l00ft Chimney Flue
It was not long before we had a visit from the City Police with a serious complaint from German citizens, that "used toilet paper" was showering down on Adolf Hitler Strasse and traced to our Camp Chimney. The Camps comment was "So What?" (We thought it a fitting gesture.) However the Police insisted something had to be done about it and Kiwi had to open up the smoke flue near the chimney and insert a grill. This memory is recalled with amusement.
Central Yard of Lodz Camp
The two storey building (on the right hand side of this photograph) had been an old boiler house in its factory days and running below under the right/hand single building (in the fore ground) was a brick lined smoke flue the led to a l00ft chimney stack (which is not in the picture).
Our Camp Leader made application for more toilets through the Camp Commandant who agreed that they were needed. On looking round the premises, they came across this underground smoke flue and decided it would make an ideal cesspit.
So our camp carpenter (Kiwi) a New Zealand lad was given the job to produce extra toilet seats over the old smoke flue. Being a very practical Colonial type, Kiwi spent the next few evenings going round the camp and measuring the length of the thighs of all the camp and also the width of their buttocks and he then prepared his 'custom built' set of new toilet seats built on a slight slope and the seats of varied size so that the tall the short the broad and the slim could be catered for, with seats to suit all.
The toilets were officially opened, and early on each day, after initial hot drinks, it was found that when all the seats were occupied such toilet paper that was used, was virtually sucked from ones hand, down into the pit, because of the draft caused by the l00ft Chimney Flue
It was not long before we had a visit from the City Police with a serious complaint from German citizens, that "used toilet paper" was showering down on Adolf Hitler Strasse and traced to our Camp Chimney. The Camps comment was "So What?" (We thought it a fitting gesture.) However the Police insisted something had to be done about it and Kiwi had to open up the smoke flue near the chimney and insert a grill. This memory is recalled with amusement.