1 Killing site(s)
Władysław B., born in 1926: "The camp guards were Volksdeutsche or Reichsdeutsche from Poland. Among them, three were from Maków, and they were the most brutal. Though armed, they wore civilian clothes and were Polish Germans. There was also one Polish man among the guards who quickly aligned himself with the Germans. Together, they hunted and killed Jews mercilessly. There was no shortage of Jewish victims to target." (Testimony N°YIU635P, interviewed in Żebry-Chudek, on October 17, 2016)
"Around 2,000 people were shot on 17.12.1939 in the Żebry-Chudek forest. The bodies were buried in the same forest, in two pits measuring 80 m x 1.5 m." [Court Inquiries about executions and mass graves in districts, provinces, camps and ghettos=Ankieta Sadow Grodzkich, 1945 Reel 13 FILE 43]
Żebry-Chudek is a village located approximately 9 km (6 mi) west of Ostrołęka, in the Mazovian Voivodeship. It is part of the Gmina Olszewo-Borki in Ostrołęka County. The village, originally named Żebry-Chudki, was established in the second half of the 16th century in the Różan region. Before the war, Żebry-Chudek was exclusively inhabited by Poles.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, the area around Żebry-Chudek fell under German occupation. A new administration was established, with German headquarters located in the nearby town of Nowa Wieś, just 2 km from Żebry-Chudek. In 1940, a labor camp for Jewish and Polish prisoners was set up in Nowa Wieś. Surrounded by wooden planks and barbed wire, the camp was constructed by requisitioned Polish workers. Guarded by Volksdeutsche from Maków Mazowiecki—who, though dressed in civilian clothes, were armed—the camp housed around 100 prisoners. Jews wore yellow armbands, while Poles were identified by white armbands.
Living conditions in the camp were dire, leading to the outbreak of a typhus epidemic that claimed the lives of several inmates. The camp remained operational until the prisoners were transferred to Biedrzyce, where they were housed in a school building and forced to work breaking stones in the fields.
During the German occupation, the forest near Żebry-Chudek became a site of mass killings. Between 1939 and 1945, up to 2,000 individuals, including Jews and Poles, were murdered there in a series of shootings. According to archival records, a major Aktion took place on December 17, 1939. The operation targeted individuals suspected of political activities, primarily from Poznań and Pomerania. Prisoners were transported by train to Nakły station, located 1 km from Żebry-Chudek, and then moved by truck to the execution site. Upon arrival, the victims were forced to undress before being shot. Their belongings were burned nearby, and the corpses were buried in pits measuring 2 meters by 2 meters and 40 meters in length, dug two weeks earlier by requisitioned Poles. Of the four pits prepared, only two were used.
Conflicting accounts have complicated the timeline of these events. A witness interviewed by Yahad recalled a shooting at the same site on December 8, 1940, possibly referring to the same massacre with a discrepancy in dates, or describing a separate incident. The similarity of details suggests these accounts may represent different perspectives on the same event.
Additionally, in 1942, 19 prisoners from Ciechanów were reportedly executed in the same forest, according to a local witness.
In 1944, German forces exhumed the victims’ bodies and transported them to an unknown location in an attempt to conceal the crimes.
Do you have additional information regarding a village that you would like to share with Yahad ?
Please contact us at contact@yahadinunum.org
or by calling Yahad – In Unum at +33 (0) 1 53 20 13 17