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1 Killing site(s)
Sławomir P., born in 1925: "I remember an event from the beginning of the war. The Germans ordered the Jews to choose a number of their own people to be killed. They selected eleven men—old, sick, and disabled—and shot them next to a barn. I didn’t witness the shooting myself, but people in the village talked about it. What I did see was the execution of an elderly Jewish man named Romek. He was about seventy years old and came from Błażkowa. One day, he came to me and asked if I could help him cross the river. He was living in terrible misery and had decided to turn himself in to the Germans—he wanted to die, to end his suffering. I ferried him across and walked with him to the police station. There, a Polish policeman took Romek to the Jewish cemetery. He ordered him to dig his own grave, but Romek, being old and nervous, couldn’t manage. Another Polish man who had come with them finished digging the grave. Then the policeman shot Romek in the neck. I believe the second man covered the grave afterward, but I didn’t see that—when I heard the gunshot, I left. I was able to witness the whole scene because I had followed them with a few friends. We stayed hidden, about fifty meters away, and watched. After the war, the policeman who shot Romek was sentenced to death in a postwar trial.” (Witness N°345P, interviewed in Brzostek, on June 18, 2014)
Brzostek is a town in Dębica County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland (historic province of Lesser Poland). It lies on the Wisłoka River, in the foothills of the Carpathians, approximately 19 km (12 miles) south of Dębica and 46 km (29 miles) west of the regional capital, Rzeszów.
Before the Second World War, Brzostek was home to a small but vibrant Jewish community. In 1917, the Jewish population peaked at 716 individuals, comprising over 12% of the local parish population. The Jewish religious community (kahal) in Brzostek included 20 surrounding villages and maintained a synagogue, mikveh (ritual bath), cemetery, and cheder (religious school). A new brick synagogue and mikveh were constructed in the early 20th century with financial support from relatives in America. The community was led by Rabbi Cheim Wolkenfeld beginning in 1914 and governed by elected officials.
Most Jews in Brzostek earned their livelihoods through trade and artisanal activities, often living modestly, with many receiving financial assistance from Jewish relatives abroad. By the early 20th century, a significant number were engaged in small-scale trade and artisanal work. In 1912, 8 of the town’s 22 craftsmen were Jewish—including tailors, a baker, a shoemaker, and others. By 1930, this number had risen to 12. However, trade remained the primary source of income: out of 59 registered traders in Brzostek in 1930, 51 were Jewish. They worked in sectors such as textiles, livestock, dairy, leather goods, grain, and household items.
Relations between Jews and Poles in Brzostek were generally amicable, though economic competition sometimes led to tensions. The situation deteriorated during the First World War, when Russian military repression included restrictions on movement and reports of violence against Jewish women. In 1919, anti-Jewish disturbances took place when Polish youth from nearby villages stoned Jewish-owned shops.
By the 1930s, the central market square (Rynek) in Brzostek was predominantly inhabited by Jewish families—only about 10 Polish families lived there, while the rest of the homes were Jewish-owned. Jewish families typically had 6–7 members, though some were significantly larger; for example, Aron Sala had 15 children. On the eve of the Second World War, approximately 500 Jews lived in Brzostek, comprising roughly 30% of the town’s population.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, on September 8–9, 1939, Wehrmacht soldiers entered Brzostek, and the surrounding Polish units withdrew without resistance. The area was soon incorporated into the General Government under Nazi occupation. In the early weeks of the war, some Jews managed to escape eastward into the Soviet Union.
After a brief period of relative calm, the Jews of Brzostek began to face increasing persecution. Jewish property was confiscated, shops were closed, and many Jews were subjected to forced labor, particularly in agriculture, road construction, and fortification work in Wiśniowa. According to a local witness interviewed by Yahad – In Unum, 11 Jewish men were shot at the beginning of the occupation.
In the fall of 1941, the Germans established an open ghetto in Brzostek, forcing all local Jews into its confines. In 1942, Jews from Jodłowa were relocated to the Brzostek ghetto. Some of the ghetto’s inmates were later sent to a labor camp in Lviv. On May 1, 1942, eight Jewish communists were executed and buried in the local Jewish cemetery.
On August 12, 1942, the Brzostek ghetto was liquidated. A number of Jews, particularly those who tried to escape—including a woman with her child—were shot during the Aktion and buried in the Jewish cemetery. The remaining 180 ghetto inmates were taken to Kołaczyce. Some were sent to the Jasło labor camp, while others were taken to the Podzamcze Forest, where they were murdered along with Jews from surrounding villages, including Kołaczyce and Nawsie Kołaczyckie. The total number of victims from this Aktion is estimated at 260.
Throughout the occupation, additional executions took place in and around Brzostek. Many Jews were shot in the Jewish cemetery, including a Jewish man named Romek from Błażkowa. However, no precise archival records exist regarding the total number of victims or executions. Other Jews were murdered in nearby forests, including those in Jaworze and Krajowice. Further killings occurred in Zawadka Brzostecka, where 38 Jews and Roma were killed; in Januszkowice, where 10 Jews were murdered; and in Wola Brzostecka, where 6 Jews and one Pole were executed.
Approximately 80 Jews from Brzostek survived the Holocaust.
For more information about the killings of Jews in Kołaczyce and Wola Brzostecka, please refer to the corresponding profiles.
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