Łopuszna (Lopuszna) | Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Anna P., born in 1921: “Before the war, several Jewish families lived in Ochotnica Górna, like the Mengel and Herszel families. I remember a Jewish woman, probably Mania Herschel, who used to come to our house for milk.” ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Anna P., born in 1921: “Then came the day of the shooting. The Jews were marched towards Łopuszna. I saw the column from my home and recognized people in it. They were taken near the cemetery there and shot." ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Franciszek G., born in 1936: “Before the war, only two Jews lived in Łopuszna. One Jewish man who was killed right at the beginning of the war and a Jewish woman who ran an inn. I know that more Jews lived in nearby Ochotnica.” ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unu Franciszek G., born in 1936: “I remember seeing the Jews from Ochotnica being marched along the road, just like herding sheep in autumn. I was just a boy, watching. My parents yelled at me not to look, but I was curious.” ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Franciszek G., born in 1936: "Poor Jews cried terribly, begging for water we couldn’t give. Offering it meant being shot. I saw one man collapse; they finished and buried him there." ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Leon G., born in 1929: "Three Jews were killed here by a German on a motorcycle. They were likely on their way to Nowy Targ, following orders for Jews to gather there, when they met that German who shot them." ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Leon G., born in 1929: "It was a family of three—parents and a little girl. They were all buried next to the Catholic cemetery in Łopuszna." ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Jan K., born in 1921: "I remember seeing Jews passing through our village of Łopuszna on their way to Nowy Targ. I saw about five or six of them, both men and women. They weren’t guarded, likely heading to the ghetto." ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Jan K., born in 1921: "In Nowy Targ, I saw the pit by the Jewish cemetery with bodies of shot Jews. I also heard talk of Jews being shot right here, next to the cemetery in Łopuszna, where a pit was dug." ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Thanks to information from interviewed witnesses, the Yahad team managed to locate the approximate burial site of at least four Jews from Ochotnica, killed and buried in 1942. ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum This photograph shows the mass grave next to the cemetery in Łopuszna. Records and testimonies indicate four Jews from Ochotnica were shot and buried here by Gestapo in August 1942. More victims may also be interred. ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum

Destruction of Jews in Łopuszna

1 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:
Glade beside the Catholic cemetery
Memorials:
No
Period of occupation:
1939-1944
Number of victims:
At least 11

Witness interview

Leon G., born in 1929: "Before the war, Łopuszna was a small village with around 150 houses—about half the number it has today. My parents were farmers. There was one Jewish man who ran the local inn. I don’t remember his name, but teamsters passing through from distant areas would often stop there to rest and feed their horses. He eventually sold the inn to someone else. I do remember another Jewish man, Moryc, who lived in Nowa Biała. During the war, I saw a Jewish family—a man, a woman, and their little daughter—pass through our village. They were likely heading toward Nowy Targ, as announcements had been made ordering Jews to report there. A German soldier on a motorcycle came from the direction of Nowy Targ, stopped them, asked for their documents, and then shot them. They were buried behind the cemetery. I saw it myself.” (Witness N°1234P, interviewed in Łopuszna, on July 23, 2021)

Polish Archives

Łopuszna, Nowy Targ Municipality

August 1942 Gestapo officers shot 4 Jews from Ochotnica. The bodies were buried next to the local cemetery. [AGK, ASG, sygn. 10, k. 536; AGK, Ankieta GK "Egzekucje" pow. Nowy Targ, woj. Krakowskie.]

-XII 1942 Gestapo officers shot a Jew. The victim was Leopold Wertmann, 60 years old. The body was buried next to the manor buildings. [AGK, ASG, sygn. 10, k. 535; AGK, Ankieta GK “Egzekucje” pow. Nowy Targ, woj. Krakowskie.]

-IX/X 1943 The Hitlerites shot 6 Jews of unknown names. [AGK, Ankieta GK “Egzekucje” pow. Nowy Targ, woj. Krakowskie]

Historical note

Łopuszna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Targ, within Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately 9 km (6 miles) east of Nowy Targ and 66 km (41 miles) south of the regional capital, Kraków.

Before the Second World War, Łopuszna was a small rural village with just over a hundred households, inhabited primarily by Catholics and a few settled Roma families. According to testimonies collected by a Yahad - In Unum research team, only one Jewish resident was known to have lived in Łopuszna. He was murdered at the very beginning of the German occupation.

In contrast, a more substantial Jewish population—totaling around 250 individuals across approximately 20 families—lived in nearby villages such as Ochotnica Dolna, Ochotnica Górna, and Tylmanowa. The Jews in these localities were primarily engaged in trade and crafts, playing an important role in the local economy and community life.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

The German occupation of Nowy Targ County began on September 1, 1939, when Wehrmacht and Slovak troops entered the area, marking the beginning of five years of foreign control. The town of Nowy Targ and its neighboring communities in the Podhale region, including the village of Łopuszna, were soon incorporated into the Kraków District of the General Government.

While all residents of Ochotnica and surrounding villages experienced the brutality of German rule, it was the Jewish community that was first subjected to systematic persecution. Beginning in 1942, Gestapo officers carried out a series of targeted killings in Ochotnica and Tylmanowa. Jewish residents were executed publicly, often in front of their families and neighbors. The victims were buried in mass graves that still remain in both villages.

In mid-1942, the German authorities ordered the complete removal of all Jews from Nowy Targ County. The deadline for this operation was set for August 30, 1942. The decree warned that anyone who attempted to hinder the deportations or hide Jews would be executed. Residents were also ordered to keep their windows covered throughout the operation to prevent them from witnessing the events.

At dawn on August 30, 1942, a group of Jews from Ochotnica was forced to march toward Nowy Targ. Along the route, several were killed in the village of Łopuszna. The rest of the group was executed later that same day at the Jewish cemetery in Nowy Targ by German forces. Testimonies collected by Yahad - In Unum confirm that the victims murdered in Łopuszna were buried near the local Catholic cemetery. Witness accounts and archival records identify at least four of these victims: an elderly man who collapsed during the march, and a family of three. To this day, no memorial marks their graves.

In addition to these killings, archival sources report that six more Jews were shot in Łopuszna by German forces around late September or early October 1943. The location of their burial remains unknown.

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