Markowa | Subcarpathian Voivodeship

Destruction of Jews and non-Jews in Markowa

2 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:

Graveyard of dead animals (1); garden of the Ulma family (2)

Memorials:

Yes

Period of occupation:

1939-1944

Number of victims:

Several dozen Jews

Witness interview

Stanisław N., born in 1930: "Markowa before the war was the same size as it is today, with a population of about 5,000 people, including 120 Jews. The Jews lived throughout Markowa, and there was also a Jewish neighborhood named "Kazimierz," in reference to a Jewish quarter in Kraków. Most of the Jews in Markowa were poor, including farmers and merchants. A lot of them eventually moved abroad. There were two Jewish stores in Markowa. At school, everyone studied together in a mixed school, but I did not have any Jewish classmates in my class. There was no official synagogue in Markowa; however, there were two houses of prayer located in the homes of wealthier Jewish families. One of the local Jews was Choim Goldmann, who was a farmer. The local Christians, for convenience, would often refer to the Jews by their first names or give them nicknames. I also recall a Jewish man named Saul Goldmann, who was hiding at the Ulma family’s house during the German occupation.
In Łańcut, located about 10 km from Markowa, there was a school with more Jewish students, including more Jewish girls, and the teachers at this school were also Jewish, including the math teacher. There was a synagogue there, as well as in Kańczuga, located 8 km from Markowa. Both places had Jewish cemeteries, but there was none in Markowa. When the German occupation began, the Jews were required to wear armbands with a Star of David starting at the age of 12, and they continued to live in their homes until 1942. After that, they were rounded up and taken to the ghetto in Łańcut. Those who escaped the roundup hid and lived "under the open sky," and when the cold weather set in, they came to hide within the Polish families, such as Ulma or Szylar families who risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbors." (Witness N°1510P, interviewed in Łańcut, on September 26, 2023)

Polish Archives

Historical note

Markowa is a village in Łańcut County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Markowa. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 miles) south-east of Łańcut and 22 kilometres (14 miles) east of the regional capital Rzeszów. From available sources we know that the Jewish presence in Markowa had existed for more than 200 years. In the mid-19th century, fewer than 50 Jews lived in Markowa. By 1910, the Jewish population had grown to 174, living alongside 4,480 Christians. In 19th and 20th centuries, many Jews from Markowa decided to leave their village to find better economic opportunities. Many chose to settle in nearby towns such as Łańcut, Kańczuga, and Rzeszów, as well as in the surrounding villages. Others decided to leave Poland and settle abroad. Before the outbreak of the World War II, Markowa had a Jewish population of around 120 people, that belonged to the Jewish community of the city of Łańcut, located about 8 km north of Markowa, which, before the outbreak of World War II, had a Jewish population of 2,753.

The Jewish community in Markowa, like other towns in Poland, played a vital role in the local economy and culture. According to available sources, as well as to Yahad witnesses, the Jews of Markowa were involved in small-scale trade and agriculture, with their modest homes often doubling as shops or storage spaces. Jewish children attended the local school, altogether with non-Jewish children. There were at least three prayer houses in the village. These were typically separate rooms within private homes, serving as gathering places for the community. One of them was located in the house of the Muller family, situated in the Kazimierz district of Markowa, referring by its name to the Jewish quarter of Kraków.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

When World War II erupted, several Jewish families from Markowa fled eastward, understanding the extreme dangers that lay ahead under Nazi occupation. This danger was far from theoretical: the villagers had already received news of the first Jewish victim from Markowa, Markus Goldman Rosengarten, who was murdered at Dachau in early 1939. Unlike other areas of Nazi-occupied Poland, the Germans introduced Anti-Jewish measures, which were also applied in Markowa . The local Jews were required to wear armbands featuring the Star of David, they endured confiscations of property, forced labor, and the constant threat of violence.

The Jaroslaw district was included in Operation “Reinhardt” in late July or August 1942.In August, the Germans banned Jews from continuing to stay in Markowa. However, very few Jews came forward for “resettlement”, probably no more than 6-8 people. They were mostly elderly people. They were taken in one wagon to Łańcut, and then shared the fate of the residents of the local ghetto.

Following the increasing persecutions towards the Jewish population, many of Markowa’s Jews went into hiding. Initially, a group of several dozen Jews sought refuge the forests, barns, and fields surrounding their homes. Over time, however, the physical and emotional toll of hiding became too much for some, and they gave themselves up to the local police station in Markowa, which was under the control of Polish policemen working for the Nazis. These individuals were promptly arrested by the German gendarmes and transported to Łańcut, where they were killed at the Jewish cemetery.

The Germans conducted frequent searches in Markowa and surrounding areas to find hidden Jews, often forcing local Christian residents to participate in these raids. Local witnesses interviewed by Yahad recall that in the fall or in winter of 1942, volunteer fire brigades from Markowa and nearby towns were requisitioned by the Germans to find Jews who were still in hiding and bring them to the authorities. At least 26 local Poles took part in the raid. According to YIU’s witnesses, around 40 people were progressively captured and locked in the basement of the municipal building in Markowa. The Gestapo arrived in Markowa and killed the Jews at a location called the "trench," (“okop”) which had previously been used as a cemetery for dead animals. In 1947, the bodies of the victims were exhumed and moved to the war victims’ cemetery in the town of Jagiełła.

In addition to this site, there were executions in Kazimierz district of Markowa where at least seven victims were killed, and in the house of Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma in Markowa. Jozef Ulma, along with his wife Wiktoria, had been hiding for 1,5 years eight Jews, including members of the Szall and Goldmann families (Saul Goldman with his sons Baruch, Mechel, Joachim and Moses, and the Ulmas’ neighbors from Markowa - Gołda Grünfeld and Lea Didner, daughters of Chaim Goldman - a relative of the aforementioned Saul. Lea was hiding with her little daughter named Reszla). On March 24, 1944, probably following a denunciation of a local policeman, 5 gendarmes and 4 to 6 Polish blue policemen arrived at the Ulma residence, where they discovered the eight Jewish refugees. The Germans immediately shot the eight Shall and Goldmann families. They then turned their attention to the Ulma family, shooting Jozef, Wiktoria, who was pregnant, and their six children: Stanisława, Barbara, Władysław, Franciszek, Antoni and Maria. These murders were carried out by Joseph (Jan) Kokott, a Sudetenland Czech Volksdeutsche serving with the German police, who killed three or four of the children, while the others are shot dead by the other policemen. Other members of the German patrol, including Eilert Dieken, the commander, Michael Dziewulski, and Erich Wilde, participated in the killings. Afterward, the Germans looted the Ulma family’s home and workshop and held a drunken celebration in the aftermath of the killings. In recognition of their selfless act of saving Jewish lives, the Ulma family members were posthumously honored by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel, with the title of "Righteous Among the Nations." In 2019, the Ulma family was beatified by the Catholic Church, further cementing their legacy as martyrs and heroes in the fight against Nazi persecution. The only gendarme from the Lańcut post to bear criminal responsibility for the crimes committed against the Polish and Jewish populations was Joseph Kokott.

Other Polish families in Markowa, such as the Szylar family, also took great risks by hiding Jews in their homes. The Jews hidden by the Szylar family were Miriam Weltz, Moniek Weltz, Abraham Weltz, Rachel Weltz Osowsky, Aaron Weltz, and Leon Weltz. They all survived the war. In 1992, Eugeniusz Szylars’ sisters, and posthumously their parents, were honored with the Medal of the “Righteous Among the Nations”. Also awarded the "Righteous Among the Nations" medal were Julia and Józef Bar and their daughter Janina, who were hiding the Lorbenfeld family of three: Chaim, Rojza, and their daughter Pesia.

Through efforts of several polish families, at least 21 Jews survived the Holocaust in Markowa.

Jewishgen

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