1 Killing site(s)
Adolf M., born in 1930 remembers: "Before the war, approximately 15 Jewish residents lived in Michalów, most of whom were merchants. Initially, during the occupation, their lives continued relatively normally. However, they were soon forced to live together in a single house, which still stands today but has since been converted into a recreation center. The Germans murdered all of them. I’m not sure where the gendarmes involved came from, but one of them, known as S***, was recognizable for smoking a pipe. I saw the Jews being lined up in front of a pit and shot with pistols." [Testimony N°YIU149P, interviewed in Michalów, on August 19, 2012)
"The mass grave is rectangular in shape, 15 meters long and 6 meters wide. The grave has no mound, in two places it is sunk to a depth of about 20 cm. It is located in a field within the boundaries of the Michalów estate. According to witnesses present at the on-site inspection, the grave contains the bodies of about 50 persons of both sexes, including two children, who were murdered in the yard of the Wożuczyn Sugar Factory in November 1942. Some of the murdered Jews worked at the sugar factory, while about 25 people were brought in from neighboring villages […] All the Jews were shot in the factory courtyard, and the bodies were taken to a field in the village Michalów and buried in a mass grave." [Report from the external inspection of a mass grave of civilian Jewish population murdered by the Germans in November 1942 in a field, belonging to the Michalów manor, dated May 10, 1950; IPN BU 175/166, s.1]
Michalów is a village located in the district of Rachanie, within Tomaszów Lubelski County in eastern Poland. It lies approximately 4 km (2 miles) east of Rachanie, 17 km (11 miles) northeast of Tomaszów Lubelski, and 103 km (64 miles) southeast of the regional capital, Lublin.
At the end of the 19th century, Michalów consisted of 51 houses and was home to 461 residents, including a small Jewish community of seven individuals. In 1912–1913, the establishment of the "Wożuczyn" sugar factory on Michalów’s land contributed to a significant increase in the village’s population. According to the 1921 census, the village had expanded to 81 houses and 575 residents, including 18 Jews who were affiliated with the synagogue community in Łaszczów.
The precise number of Jewish residents in Michalów on the eve of the war remains uncertain. However, according to testimonies collected by Yahad, there were three Jewish families living in the village at that time.
Michalów was occupied by German troops in mid-September 1939. After a brief period of Soviet control, the village was returned to German authority at the end of September 1939. Although German authorities did not establish permanent headquarters in Michalów, a gendarmerie post and a Schutzpolizei unit were set up in the nearby town of Rachanie.
According to Polish archives and testimonies from local witnesses interviewed by Yahad - In Unum, a shooting of 13 Jews—including 4 men, 4 women, and 5 children—took place in Michalów in 1942. Before the execution, the victims were forced into a designated Jewish house near which a pit was dug by local Poles. On the day of the massacre, gendarmes from Rachanie surrounded the village, gathered the victims near the pit, and executed them by shooting. The pit was subsequently filled in by local villagers, and the bodies remained there until they were exhumed after the war.
Another mass killing occurred at the Michalów sugar factory in November 1942. According to some local witnesses, this execution took place in the morning and was carried out by six gendarmes from Rachanie. Some of the victims were Jews who worked at the sugar factory, while approximately 25 others were brought from neighboring villages. The bodies of around 50 victims—including men, women, and children—were buried in a nearby field in a pit dug by locals.
The Yahad - In Unum team was able to identify one of the two execution sites: the location in the center of the village, where 13 Jews were killed and buried.
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