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1 Killing site(s)
Henryka J., born in 1932: "I was born in Słubice, and before the war, there were no Jewish families living in our village. However, I remember the Jewish community in nearby Sanniki very well. Most of them lived along Wolczyńska Street. We often went to Sanniki with my parents — to the market or to do some shopping — and I’d see them there regularly. They were a part of everyday life in the village. Although no Jews lived in Słubice, some from Sanniki would come to our village to trade or offer services. I especially remember one Jewish glazier who used to visit the village — he came to install window panes in the houses. That memory has stayed with me all these years." (Witness N°1327P, interviewed in Kłobuck, on June 21, 2022)
"Autumn 1944: The gendarmerie executed a Jew in hiding named Konewka. The victim’s body was buried in the park in Słubice. In 1945, an exhumation was carried out." [AGK, Ankieta OK Warszawa “Egzekucje” Słubice, pow. Gostynin]
Słubice is a village in the gmina of Słubice, within Płock County in the Masovian Voivodeship of east-central Poland. It serves as the administrative seat of the gmina bearing the same name. The village is located approximately 26 km southeast of Płock and 75 km west of Warsaw.
Very little is known about the pre-war Jewish community of Słubice. The only eyewitness interviewed by the Yahad – In Unum research team recalled the vibrant Jewish community in the nearby town of Sanniki. In the early 20th century, the Jewish population of Sanniki was an integral part of the town’s demographic and social fabric. According to the 1921 census, 315 Jews lived in Sanniki out of a total population of 1,447, making up over 20% of the town’s residents. Economically, Jews were primarily engaged in trade and skilled crafts, especially tailoring.
A significant development in the 1920s was the establishment of a curtain factory by members of the Jewish community. This factory not only provided employment for many local Jews but also offered jobs to Poles from neighboring villages. Its products were sold both within Poland and internationally, reflecting the community’s entrepreneurial spirit.
The Jewish community was well-organized and religiously active, with a synagogue serving as its spiritual and social center. By 1937, Rabbi Jeshua Aaronson held the position of Chief Rabbi, and Simcha Yaskolka served as the head of the Jewish community.
The lack of available archival information about Jews in Słubice suggests that the Jewish presence in the village was very small. During the German occupation, they likely shared the fate of Jews from nearby Sanniki.
After the outbreak of the Second World War and the German invasion in September 1939, Sanniki came under heavy bombardment by the Luftwaffe. Many buildings were set ablaze, and while some Jews fled the area, others seeking safety arrived from nearby villages. By the end of that year, the town’s population stood at 5,382, including 311 Jews. This number later increased to 351, following the forced relocation of Jews from Słubice and Osmolin to Sanniki.
Once the region was incorporated into the Third Reich as part of Reichsgau Wartheland, Jewish residents faced escalating persecution. Their properties were confiscated, and they were subjected to forced labor. In September 1940, the German authorities established a ghetto in Sanniki, confining the Jewish population to an overcrowded and tightly controlled section of the town. The area was under constant surveillance by the local Gendarmerie.
In the spring of 1941, the occupying forces ordered the Jewish residents to dismantle the local church. The destruction was documented by German photographers and later used in antisemitic propaganda campaigns.
By March 1942, the deportation of Jews from the Sanniki ghetto had begun. Many able-bodied men, including community leaders, were transferred to the Konin-Czarków labor camp. The ghetto was liquidated on April 17, 1942, when approximately 250 Jews—the ghetto’s remaining inhabitants—were deported to Chełmno, where they were murdered in gas vans. Before their deportation, they were forced to surrender their remaining valuables, including money, jewelry, and precious metals. By early July, Nazi officials declared the ghetto area “cleansed,” effectively erasing Jewish life from Sanniki.
Jews who had managed to hide in the surrounding area and forests before or during the ghetto’s liquidation were gradually discovered and executed by the Germans. According to Polish archives, one Jewish man was murdered in the park in Słubice in the fall of 1944. A local witness interviewed by Yahad – In Unum reported that two Jewish men caught hiding in the forest were shot and buried in the park in Słubice. The Yahad team was able to identify the approximate location of their original burial site. However, according to the same witness and archival sources, the victims’ bodies were exhumed and reburied elsewhere in 1945.
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