Szczuczyn pogrom - was a massacre of Jewish community in Szczuczyn carried out by its Polish inhabitants, which was approved by the German Nazi authorities in June and July of 1941.
Historical background
During the interwar Poland, the town was influenced by nationalistic organizations and the significant role of the Catholic Church. At the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 some military units of Wehrmacht entered the town in which a spontaneous pogrom has already begun. With limited actions, the Germans managed to stop the pogrom and soon after transfer the town to the Soviet authorities according to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact[1]. During the German presence, a synagogue was destroyed and 300 Jewish men were taken away. After that, Soviet authorities began to operate in the town. Some residents and members of nationalist Polish organizations have been repressed. Many poles believed that Jews were showing excessive loyalty to Soviet power, which further aggravated anti-Jewish sentiment. Immediately after the Nazi Germany attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, by the 24th day, Schuchin was occupied by the Wehrmacht for the second time.
Massacre
The anti-Jewish sentiment among the Poles, the destruction of the synagogue, the arrest of men and the arrival of the German army made a devastating impression on the Jewish community. Since the front was rapidly moving eastward and the Germans did not manage to form their own administration, the power went into the hands of the Polish nationalist groups. The local administration was headed by a local school teacher, just released by the Germans from the Soviet prison. Almost immediately after that murders began. According to the testimony of Chaye Golding, on June 24, Polish townspeople drove a 100 Jewish men to the central square and killed them with axes, sticks and shovels. At night, June 25, in four districts of the town killings of Jews took place in their own homes. Subsequently, the Poles began to kill Jews in the afternoon, including in public places. For example on Sunday on the road to the church[2]. The killings also took place at a local slaughterhouse for cattle. Several Jewish women appealed to the local priest to quell aggression. However, they were refused. Then, with the help of gifts, delegations the Jews persuaded the German troops to take them under guard. For a while, it stopped pogroms[3]. In August, Polish police and German units drove the remains of Jews on the square and subsequently placed them in the ghetto. Senior people were selected, taken to the cemetery and killed. Some women from the ghetto were killed by Polish peasants in the forest near the village of Bzura[4].
See also
External links
References
- ^ Tryczyk Mirosław (2016) Nie tylko Jedwabne... "Miasta śmierci" na Podlasiu. "Polacy stopniowo uczyli się zabijać Dziennik 23.11.2017
- ^ Tryczyk Mirosław (2015) «Łopatą, sztachetą, kijem» Newsweek Polska 23.11.2017
- ^ Soika-Golding Chaye (1945) How the Jews of Shtutsin (Szczuczyn) Struggled and Suffered Chaye, Golding Letters 23.11.2017
- ^ Domanowska A. (2012) Murder of Jewish Women in Bzury. Polish IPN Opens An Investigation 23.11.2017