Słomniki | Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Destruction of Jews in Słomniki

3 Sitio(s) de ejecución

Tipo de lugar antes:

Field (1); courtyard (2); Jewish cemetery (3)

Memoriales:

No

Período de ocupación:

1939-1944

Número de víctimas:

Over 500

Entrevista del testigo

Kazimierz W., born in 1922: "I was born in Krępice. In February 1942, I was forced to join the Baudienst, like many other young men at the time. During the liquidation Aktions, we were driven from town to town for about a week. Słomniki was the second town we went to. There, several thousand Jews were gathered. They were led in rows of four up a hill along a path marked with rope. The elderly were brought by cart. At the execution site, they were forced to undress. If they refused, we had to make them comply. One by one, they were brought to the edge of a pit, ordered to squat, and then shot in the back of the head. One of the Germans shot around 900 people. At one point, a young Jew lunged at that German and slit his throat. After the executions, I was ordered to search through the Jewish clothing. Tarps were spread out on the ground where the belongings were sorted. It was strictly forbidden to take anything—there were signs warning against it. The pits were then covered with earth and lime." (Witness N°1086P, interviewed in Krępice, on June 27, 2019)

Archivos polacos

"The gathering of the Jews literally lasted about seven days. They were taken to the meadows near the Szreniawa River, next to the mill, leaving only the members of the Jewish gmina [Kahal], the Jewish security service, and their families.

There were almost 8,000 people gathered in these meadows. There were no rooms where they could take shelter; they could only, thanks to the great grace of the Germans, use dirty water in the mill stream three times a day.

This entire macabre camp was guarded by a large number of gendarmes and navy-blue policemen, and ironically, three companies of Junaki [Baudienst] were also brought here to guard them. The Junaki had orders to cut off the head of any Jew who tried to escape with a shovel, because that was what they were armed with.

The residents wanted to help the Jews. The bakers from Słomniki expressed their willingness to bake bread and rolls without interruption. As a test, for one transport, we filled one barrel with bread rolls instead of water. The test was a complete success. Over 500 rolls were shared among the thirsty and hungry Jews.

The next morning, I talked to the doctor. She told me that that night there were 8 normal births in the camp, six premature births, a dozen or so miscarriages; four women died a few hours after giving birth, and three children also died. In total, since the camp was opened—that is, in four days—32 people died and were buried on the spot. Many Jews died of heart diseases and also of infectious diseases, especially typhoid fever and diarrhea […]

On August 31, 1942, from the early hours of the morning, increased movement among the Germans could be noticed. Additional cars with gendarmerie arrived from Kraków; a new company of Junaki also arrived. They were mostly Ukrainians. The Junaki company was directed north of the camp to a place called “Pod Kocickim Krzyżem” [“Under the Kocicki Cross”]. The company commander, after consulting with the platoon commanders, designated the places where the Junaki were to dig pits that were 2 meters deep and wide, and almost 12 meters long. 4 such pits were dug.

[…] Meanwhile, in the city, the gendarmerie and the navy-blue police were searching the Jewish apartments. The pharmacist from Kraków, Dr. Boder, who lived in Słomniki, also received an order to go to the meadows. Dr. Boder and his wife and daughter were great Polish patriots. When Boder, who at that time lived on Lelewela Street, was ordered to go to the camp in the meadows, he declared that he would not go. His whole family committed collective suicide by poisoning; additionally, Dr. Boder himself cut his wrists and those of his family […]

Meanwhile, in the morning hours, a large group of Gestapo men, gendarmes, Sonderdienst members and others entered the camp on the meadows. Men from the Sonderdienst and navy-blue policemen lined up all the Jews in two rows. Those who were lined up in this way were ordered to march towards a large commission that had been set up, led by a Gestapo officer from Kraków. This commission was to segregate people. People who could barely walk were due to their exhaustion were told to go to the right. This group of almost 500 people was later shot and buried in four pits. Others who were still walking somehow were ordered to go straight on. The gendarmes and navy-blue police lined them up in threes. The same was done to those who went to the right. They were beaten constantly […] On November 15, 1942, the Landrat Martin submitted the following short report to the governor Frank: ‘Kreis Miechów ist judenrein’ (The Miechów district is free of Jews.)" [Testimony of Stanisław Krupa, Kraków, 7 Teresy Street; Source: AZIH 301/6276 Reel #62, p. 201]

Nota histórica

Słomniki is a town in southern Poland, located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, approximately 24 km (15 miles) north of Kraków. The earliest mention of Jewish presence in Słomniki dates back to the mid-16th century, though these instances were likely temporary. By the mid-18th century, a small number of Jewish families had begun to settle in the area, primarily outside the town limits—in Zamoście and the nearby village of Słomniczki—where at least 21 Jews were recorded as residents by 1791.

Full settlement rights for Jews in Słomniki were only granted after the 1863 emancipation decree issued by Tsar Alexander II. Following this, the Jewish population grew rapidly, becoming a significant part of the town’s demographic. Most Jews earned their livelihoods through trade, ranging from local markets to broader regional commerce. However, religious and cultural differences, compounded by economic competition, often gave rise to tensions. These frictions were intensified during periods of crisis and were further inflamed by clerical rhetoric and prevailing societal prejudices.

By the early 20th century, the Jews of Słomniki had formed their own religious community, separate from the Wodzisław kahal. The interwar period, marked by economic instability and rising antisemitism, presented serious challenges. Many Jewish residents left Słomniki for larger cities in search of better opportunities and safer conditions.

The first detailed records of the Jewish community from this era date to 1925. They show that the town’s Jewish population had established key communal institutions, including a synagogue, bathhouse, cheder (religious school), and cemetery. According to the 1921 census, Słomniki had 285 houses and a population of 4,800, including 1,460 Jews.

In 1926, the town’s prayer house was damaged by fire and was not rebuilt until four years later. By 1937, the Jewish population had declined slightly to 1,320, yet the community remained an integral part of the town’s social and economic fabric until the outbreak of the Second World War, which brought about its near-total destruction.

Holocausto por balas en cifras

On September 6, 1939, German forces entered Słomniki, marking the beginning of the town’s occupation. On October 26, 1939, Słomniki was incorporated into Kreis Miechów in the Distrikt Krakau of the General Government. Soon afterward, the German authorities began implementing a series of anti-Jewish measures, including property confiscations, the imposition of a curfew, and a ban on Jews leaving the town. A Jewish Council (Judenrat) was established to coordinate with the occupying forces, particularly regarding forced labor recruitment.

By the end of 1941, the Jewish population of Słomniki had grown significantly due to the arrival of up to 1,000 refugees, including Jews from Kraków, bringing the total to approximately 2,250.

During the winter of 1940–1941, around 100 young Jewish men from Słomniki were deported to a labor camp in Nowy Targ.

Most likely in the spring of 1942, the German Security Police selected several prominent Jews in Słomniki and transported them to Miechów, where they were executed. Around the same time, a Jewish Police unit was established in the town.

The first major deportation from Słomniki—and the first in Kreis Miechów—occurred between June 4 and 8, 1942. Approximately 1,200 Jews were deported, while 800–900 remained. On the night of June 4, SS units, Ukrainian auxiliaries, and the Polish Blue Police surrounded the town. Jews were rounded up and detained in the synagogue and local schools, where they were held without food or water for three days. On June 8, they were transported to Prokocim, where they were stripped of their valuables and subjected to a selection process. A few dozen were sent to the Płaszów labor camp, while the majority—including the elderly and sick—were either killed locally or deported to the Bełżec extermination camp.

Following the Aktion, about 900 Jews remained in the western part of Słomniki. In late June 1942, a decree ordered the establishment of Jewish "settlements" in the Miechów district, resulting in the relocation of Jews from nearby towns, including Michałowice, to Słomniki. While no official ghetto was formed, most Jews were concentrated in the western sector of the town.

By mid-August 1942, the Germans established a transit camp near Słomniki in a fenced field by the Szerniewa River, near the flour mill. On August 20, most of the remaining Jews in Słomniki were transferred to this camp, along with Jews from Charsznica, Skalbmierz, Koszyce, Miechów, Proszowice, and Skała. During the transports, many were killed by Ukrainian and Lithuanian guards. The camp eventually held between 6,000 and 8,000 Jews, including about 1,000 from Słomniki. Harsh conditions in the camp led to the deaths of dozens; they were buried in a mass grave at the Jewish cemetery.

On September 6–7, 1942, the Germans and their collaborators carried out the liquidation of the transit camp. Approximately 1,000 Jews were selected and sent to forced labor camps, while hundreds of the sick and children were executed and buried in pits dug in a field several hundred meters from the camp. These remains were reburied in the Jewish cemetery in the 1960s. The remaining Jews, after enduring brutal conditions in the camp, were deported to Bełżec and murdered in the gas chambers.

After the initial deportations, Jews who had evaded capture temporarily joined the remaining Jewish community in Słomniki. German forces and their collaborators actively searched for escapees, often executing them on sight. According to Yahad witness Janina J., born in 1936, a Jewish woman and her child were discovered in hiding near the Piątkowski family property and were shot by a navy-blue policeman. They were buried on the spot.

In November 1942, the last 200 Jews in Słomniki, along with several captured fugitives, were murdered in the Chodów Forest. Some sources, including Yahad witnesses, claim the executions occurred in the Wesoła Forest near the village of Domiarki.

Despite the immense danger, some local Poles risked their lives to aid Jews. In March 1943, the Germans executed a resident of Słomniki and his son in Miechów for sheltering Jews.

The end of the war did not bring safety for the few surviving Jews who returned. In June 1945, antisemitic violence broke out in Słomniki, resulting in the murder of several Jews. Although official reports acknowledged the incident, details were deliberately obscured. Soon afterward, the remaining Jews left Słomniki, marking the tragic end of the town’s centuries-old Jewish community.

Pueblos cercanos

• Wesoła
• Miechów