-3.jpg&f=jpg)
1 Killing site(s)
Jan O., born in 1929: “In August 1942, the Jews in Aleksandrów were killed in a field located about 150–200 meters from the road. The Germans arrived very early in the morning in trucks and assembled the entire village in the central square. A few Polish men attempted to flee and were shot. The Jews were taken together to a nearby field. Everyone waited, unsure of what was happening. Later in the afternoon, it became clear that the Germans had received orders to release the Polish villagers. They told us to go home. Not long after, we heard a series of gunshots and realized that the Jews had been executed. The Germans had positioned automatic rifles at three corners of the field, set on elevated ground, and used them to shoot the gathered Jews. The bodies were initially buried on the spot, in the field. However, the sołtys (village head) later gave the order to move the remains to Józefów, where there was a Jewish cemetery. The bodies were then transported there by wagon. After this first Aktion, a second one took place in the summer of 1943, this time targeting Poles. People were captured and sent to Majdanek.” [Testimony N°YIU720P, interviewed in Aleksandrów, on August 14, 2017]
“I remember it very well—it was in the morning, around 8:00 a.m., on August 7, 1942, in Aleksandrów. I was at home with my husband and our son when two Germans came into the house. They were wearing black-green uniforms, the same kind worn by the German gendarmes. One of them, who spoke Polish poorly, said that my husband had to go immediately to the courtyard of the Aleksandrów estate buildings. […] When I arrived at the estate, I couldn’t find my husband, Jan. The people there told me that the Germans had taken him in the direction of the meadows known as Sigły. […] The next day, Jan Dubiel and Stanisław Dubiel, along with others who were searching, found my husband’s body. […] I would also like to add that, at the time, while standing in the field next to the estate property, I saw some Germans marching a large group of Jews—men, women, and children—in the direction of the east, beyond a hill, and then further down toward the meadows. They were likely residents of Aleksandrów or perhaps Jews from nearby villages. I can’t say exactly how many there were. Soon afterward, I heard a series of gunshots from the direction where the Jews had been taken. I realized then that they had been executed. The shooting happened behind the hill, so I didn’t witness the killings themselves. I began to cry terribly—it pained me deeply to think of those people being killed, especially the children. Later that day, while searching for my husband in the meadows, I saw the bodies of the murdered Jews. People were pushing the bodies aside, trying to find my husband’s among them. I remember that among the victims were Ryfka and Hajka, the daughters of a Jew named Gieca. I no longer recall the names of the others. The Jews who were killed were buried at the site of the execution. To this day, the site has not been commemorated.” [Testimony of Katarzyna Kręt, living in Aleksandrów during the occupation, collected on December 11, 1976 in Lublin; S 19/05/Zn, vol. 11 pp. 2124].
Aleksandrów is a village located in Biłgoraj County, in eastern Poland. It serves as the seat of the administrative district known as Gmina Aleksandrów. The village lies approximately 16 km (10 miles) southeast of Biłgoraj and 91 km (57 miles) south of the regional capital, Lublin.
Aleksandrów is a relatively recent settlement, established at the end of the 18th century. The first inhabitants settled on land that was a large clearing situated on a small hill, surrounded by the marshy valleys of nearby rivers and streams: the Tanew to the south, the Shum to the east, the Czarna Łada to the north, and a series of swamps to the west. The early population was primarily composed of Polish Catholic farmers, most of whom lived in poverty.
According to a local witness interviewed by Yahad, around 4–5 Jewish families lived in Aleksandrów before the Second World War. However, the center of Jewish life in the region was located in nearby Józefów, which had a much larger and more established Jewish community.
Aleksandrów was occupied by German forces in mid-September 1939. While there was no German gendarmerie or Polish Granatowa (Blue) Police station in the village itself, German units were stationed in Józefów, approximately 10 km away, and conducted regular inspections. Due to its strong partisan presence and resistance activities, Aleksandrów became a focal point for German reprisal operations (Aktions), which aimed to punish the local population for their refusal to meet imposed quotas, lack of cooperation with the occupying authorities, and support for the resistance.
The Jewish residents of Aleksandrów, who were dispersed across four sections of the village, remained in their homes until August 7, 1942, when they were targeted for execution by German forces. That morning, both Aleksandrów and the nearby hamlet of Margole were surrounded by units of the 3rd Company of the 1st Motorized SS Battalion, the 2nd and 3rd Companies of the 2nd Battalion of the 25th Police Regiment, and a cavalry platoon from Krasnystaw.
All residents, including the Jewish families, were gathered in the village square. According to eyewitness testimony, in the afternoon, the Jews were separated from the rest of the villagers and marched to a nearby field. The Polish villagers were then released, while the Jews were executed with automatic weapons.Estimates of the number of Jewish victims vary. A local witness reported approximately 20 people shot, while Polish archival sources cite 36 Jews killed, and other sources mention up to 41 victims. Among the known victims were:
The victims were initially buried at the site of execution. Shortly thereafter, according to witnesses, they were exhumed and reburied in the Jewish cemetery of Józefów.
Do you have additional information regarding a village that you would like to share with Yahad ?
Please contact us at contact@yahadinunum.org
or by calling Yahad – In Unum at +33 (0) 1 53 20 13 17