Giebułtów | Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Destruction of Jews from Giebułtów et Książ Wielki in Giebułtów

1 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:

Field

Memorials:

No

Period of occupation:

1939-1944

Number of victims:

11

Witness interview

Marian O., born in 1936 : "I remember that 15 Jews were hiding in Giebułtów, in a sort of ‘cave’ dug into the bushes near the forest. Later, they moved to a pit under the pigpen at the Konieczny family’s house. No one in the village knew they were hiding there. One day, I saw partisans—I don’t know which unit—transporting Jews on three carts, a total of 15 people, including children. They drove along the road near my house. My father recognized one of them from his work at the manor. The Jew said to my father, ‘Goodbye, Józef, we will never see each other again!’ They were all killed by the partisans. At the killing site, as the story was later told, the Jews were forced to dig a pit and undress. They were then ordered to run and were shot as they tried to escape. I heard that one woman, running with a child, was shot by a partisan on horseback. Only one man managed to escape. The rest were buried where they were killed. The next day, the Germans came to kill the Konieczny family. The father and son were not at home, but they killed the mother and daughter on the spot. These women were buried in Kalina. I always suspected that the partisans robbed the Jews before killing them—something whispered about, never spoken aloud. Two weeks after the war ended in the area, I went to the killing site. All I saw was a filled-in pit.” (Witness N°1256P, interviewed in Książ Wielki, on September 18, 2021)

Historical note

Giebułtów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Książ Wielki, within Miechów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 5 km (3 miles) southeast of Książ Wielki, 11 km (7 miles) northeast of Miechów, and 42 km (26 miles) northeast of the regional capital, Kraków.

Little is known about the prewar Jewish community of Giebułtów. However, it is believed that the Jewish residents of Giebułtów were historically connected to the Jewish community of Książ Wielki, which served as the central hub for Jewish religious, social, and cultural life in the region. This community was robust, maintaining a kahal (Jewish communal organization) that oversaw a two-story brick synagogue, a cheder (religious school), a brick mikveh (ritual bath), and a home for the elderly. The synagogue, which was destroyed twice (in 1914 and 1935), was rebuilt in 1936—demonstrating the resilience and dedication of the local Jewish population.

The Jewish population of Książ Wielki reached its peak in the interwar period, with Jews comprising nearly 50% of the town’s residents by 1921. The community’s influence extended beyond the town itself, encompassing nearby villages such as Giebułtów, Nieszków, and Kozłów.

In Giebułtów, Jewish residents were fewer in number but maintained a modest presence. According to the testimony of Marian O., born in 1936, several Jewish families lived in the village and worked primarily on the estate farm as saddlers and leatherworkers. These families—around 15 individuals—were considered part of the broader Książ Wielki Jewish community. Another resident, Edmund G., born in 1933, recalled that his father knew a Jewish milk merchant named Mordka, who worked at the Giebułtów manor. This likely refers to Mordechai Herszkowicz, one of the Holocaust survivors (probably later known as Mieczysław Herszkowicz), who provided his testimony in the Miechów Memory Book.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

After the outbreak of the Second World War, the District of Książ Wielki was incorporated into the General Government under Nazi occupation. In the early months following the German invasion, conditions for the local Jewish population rapidly deteriorated due to increasing restrictions. Jewish men were forced to shave their beards, and some were subjected to forced labor, including road repairs on the Kraków–Kielce highway. Despite these hardships, Jewish shops initially remained open, and a limited degree of economic activity and trade was still permitted.

On August 24, 1942, the Jews of Książ Wielki were deported to the Miechów ghetto, and from there, transported to the Treblinka extermination camp. During this period, the Jewish cemetery was desecrated—gravestones were removed and used as construction material for sidewalks—and the synagogue was repurposed as a grain warehouse.

After the mass deportations, German forces continued to search for and kill Jews who remained in hiding in the surrounding areas. In 1943, a Pursuit Unit of the Police (Jagdkommando) led by Gendarmerie officer Baumgarten was established in Miechów, tasked with hunting down Jews, Roma, and alleged criminals. Its patrols often swept through Książ Wielki and neighboring villages. Armed partisan groups, including the Home Army (AK) and the Peasant Battalions (BCh), also targeted hidden Jews—especially after September 15, 1943. Nevertheless, some local residents risked their lives to shelter Jewish families.

According to Jerzy Żelaskiewicz in Na Ziemi Wielkoksiąskiej, two documented shootings of Jews occurred in the area. In the fall of 1942, two young Jewish women were captured by the granatowa policja (Polish Blue Police) and brought to Adolf Hubner, who executed them at the Jewish cemetery. Sometime later, 17 more Jews—among them five women—were captured by the Germans. They were killed at night by local gendarmes and buried in a mass grave.

In the winter of 1943, Majer Matusiński, a Jewish man from Książ Wielki, sought refuge with a Polish farming family, the Koniecznys. Majer, his wife Rywka, and their four children—Chanele, Josele, Malkele, and Wolf—hid for four months in a tobacco-drying cellar. In early 1944, other relatives joined them: Majer’s brother Jankiel (Jakub) Matusiński, the Lejzorek siblings—Chil, Henoch, and Tauba—as well as Herszkowicz with his mother, sister, and two brothers. Adam (Aron) Matusiński briefly joined the group with his wife Gucia, but left due to internal conflicts. Eventually, the group dug a bunker on the Konieczny family’s land for greater safety.

In May 1944, they were discovered by members of the NSZ (National Armed Forces). The group was arrested and transported by cart to a field near the local manor that before the war belonged to the landowner Kazimierz Dzianott. There, they were forced to flee and were gunned down with machine guns. Their bodies were buried on the spot. Among those killed were Majer and Rywka Matusiński, their four children, Tauba Lejzorek, and Herszkowicz’s mother, sister, and two brothers.

The survivors included Henoch Lejzorek, Mieczysław Herszkowicz, Jakub (Jankiel) Matusiński, and another Henoch Lejzer.

Following the massacre, the Germans killed Stanisława Konieczna and her daughter Natalia. Mr. Konieczny managed to escape and went into hiding. Years later, Jewish survivor Mieczysław Herszkowicz, who had emigrated to the United States, wrote to Konieczny from Washington.

Nearby villages

• Miechów
• Słomniki

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