Chmielnik | Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship

"1/ Date and place of execution: from September 4^th 1939 to January 13^th 1945.

2/ Type of execution: Shootings outside the ghetto.

3/ Data concerning killed people: Poles and Jews.

How many people were killed: […] 60 Poles and 70 Jews. 

Names, age, job, address: Among the Poles: Grusiecki Stanislaw, a farmer; Malgorzata Chmielewska, a worker, 64 years old;  Slusarski Jan, a shoemaker, 52 years old; Bialowas Jan, 56 years old, and others.

Among the Jews: Chaim Wolf Moszkowicz,  a carpenter, 24 years old; Trombecki Berek; Jool Unger, a peddler, and others.” [Court Inquiries about executions and mass graves n°613." [Miejscowosz: Miasto Chmielnik, Gmina: Miasto Chmielnika, Powiat: Stopnicki, Wojewodztwo: Kieleckie; RG-15.019M]

Chmielnik is located 32 km south-east of Kielce. The first records about the Jews go back to the mid 16^th century. In 1784, the Jewish community made up about 56% of the total population.  In the course of the years, the Jewish community became predominate and represented 82% of the total population. In 1867, 10,275 out of 12,500 in habitants were Jewish.  The Jewish community had their own cemetery and a synagogue which was destroyed under the first bombing during WWII. The majority of Jews lived off trade, for instance trade of wheat, animals, wood. Some of them were artisans, like shoemakers, carpenters, tailors and others. According to Antoni K., born in 1924, Jewish and Polish children went to the same school. On the eve of World War II, about 6,000 Jews remained in Chmielnik.

The German army occupied the town from the night of September 4 until September 5, 1939. Immediately after occupation, the persecutions of Jews began. The synagogue was burned down; about 50 Jewish shops were destroyed. The Jews were subjected to constant abuse and forced labor. Hundreds of Jews were sent to the labor camps in Pacanów, Busko-Zdrój, and Biala Podlaska. In the summer of 1940 about 7,000 remained in Chmielnik, including refugees and about 1,150 forcibly displaced from Glinica and Lodz. By the end of 1941, they were about 8,000. 

An open ghetto was created in April 1941. Due to overcrowding and bad living conditions, a case of typhus broke out and took away about a hundred Jews in few months. The liquidation of the ghetto started in October 1942. Thus, on October, 1^st 1942, about 1,000-1,200 young adults fit to work were sent to the labor camp in Skarzysko-Kamienna, and about 40 Jews to the camp in Kielce. 

The main deportation took place on October 6, 1942, and was conducted by SS unit who arrived from Kielce for this purpose. After having gathered the Jews at the market place, the groups were marched towards Checiny, located 45 km away, from where they were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp. About 72 Jews were left aside and taken back to the ghetto. In all, 700 Jews managed to stay alive after the first deportation action. They were all confined into the house where the Judenrat had been located. According to some historical sources, about 500 Jews were murdered by Germans on this day.

As a result of the field research trip, Yahad can confirm the isolated shootings did take place; Especially of those Jews who were too sick to walk or were found in hiding. But none of the witnesses confirmed that they were 500.  The bodies of those who were killed dead on the spot were gathered by the Jews themselves and taken to be buried at the Jewish cemetery.

The second deportation took place on November 5, 1942. During this deportation the remaining Jews, with the exception of 75 of them, were taken to Stopnica and then to Treblinka where they were subsequently killed. At the beginning of December 1942, the last Jews were deported to Sandormierz.