1 Killing site(s)
Zofia K., born in 1932: "The Jews from Strzegowo were transported to Mława in carts, forcedly driven by farmers from the surrounding areas. When they reached Mława, they were crammed into cattle cars and deported to extermination camps. The German soldiers treated the Jews with extreme cruelty, beating them mercilessly as they were being loaded onto the wagons." (Testimony N°YIU661P, interviewed in Strzegowo, on October 27, 2016)
"During the occupation, I lived in Biezany, 15 km from Strzegowo. There was a ghetto in Strzegowo where Jews from Sierpe and the surrounding area were confined. The area was surrounded by barbed wire. A sign indicated that entry was forbidden to Poles. I had some peat which I took to the ghetto. It was actually allowed to deliver peat to the ghetto, but nothing else. One day when I arrived with the peat - I can’t remember the exact date - I saw the preparations for an execution. It was a chilly afternoon. I was standing with my cart on the market square. The whole town of Strzegowo was busy preparing for an execution. It was going to be carried out in the street near the ghetto. I left my horse and approached. I saw a temporary gallows, 20m long. The Jews to be executed had been taken from the Gutowski cellar located nearby. They were surrounded by gendarmes and Gestapo men; there were many of them [...] The Poles were allowed to watch the execution, while the Jews were rounded up and forced to watch it. Among them were members of the condemned men’s families. One of the Jews asked to say goodbye to his family. He was not allowed to do so, and was even punched in the face. Stools were set up under the gallows and the condemned climbed on them. The rope was put around their necks, then a Gestapo man kicked the stools, and all were hanged like that [...] After the hanging, the Jews were pushed back into the ghetto." [Deposition of Jan Gadzinski, born in 1903 in Biezany, given on June 6, 1972; Hanging of 20 Jews in Strzegowo; BAL B162-5780, p.2]
" […] 20 Jews from the ghetto were hanged in September 1942 and buried in a mass grave in the “brzezina ” forest on the edge of the village." [Court Inquiries about executions and mass graves in districts, provinces, camps and ghettos=Ankieta Sadow Grodzkich, 1945 Reel 13 FILE 43]
Strzegowo, located approximately 90 km (56 mi) northwest of Warsaw, welcomed its first Jewish settlers around 1775. By the late 19th century, the Jewish population had grown significantly, becoming a dominant force in local trade. During this time, the community also established a cemetery, marking its deepening roots in the town.
According to the 1921 census, Strzegowo had a population of 1,853 residents, of whom 591—approximately 32%—were Jewish. Jewish merchants were central to the local economy, particularly in the grain and livestock trade. Many members of the Jewish community worked as peddlers or shopkeepers, while others owned essential businesses, such as the town’s mill and bakery. A Yahad witness recalled that the bakery’s owner, Leibki, was Jewish, as was the owner of the mill.
Beyond their economic contributions, Strzegowo’s Jewish residents were active in cultural and political life. Most major Jewish political parties in Poland were represented in the town, reflecting the community’s vibrant engagement. In the 1930s, educational opportunities expanded with the establishment of a Tarbut school, which focused on Hebrew-language instruction and Zionist ideals. Agudat Israel also operated a Beth Jacob school for girls, offering religious and vocational training.
While the exact number of Jewish residents in Strzegowo on the eve of World War II remains uncertain, a local witness interviewed by Yahad testified that many Jews still lived in the town at the time, underscoring their enduring presence on the brink of the Holocaust.
On September 3, 1939, Strzegowo suffered devastating bombing raids by German forces, forcing many inhabitants to flee the town. The following day, September 4, Wehrmacht troops invaded, establishing a new administration, including a gendarmerie post. Anti-Jewish measures were implemented in the weeks that followed: Jewish property was seized, religious practices were targeted, and Orthodox Jews were subjected to humiliating forced labor, even on the Sabbath.
In late 1939, pogroms carried out by local Volksdeutsche resulted in the murder of several Jews in nearby forests. By the fall of 1941, in an effort to prevent the relocation of Strzegowo’s Jewish population to the Warsaw Ghetto, representatives of the Jewish community bribed local German officials and falsely claimed a typhus outbreak. Their efforts succeeded temporarily, leading to the establishment of a ghetto in Strzegowo on November 1, 1941. A Judenrat (Jewish council) and Jewish police were subsequently organized to administer the ghetto.
On January 6, 1942, the ghetto population swelled to about 2,000, as Jews from nearby towns such as Bieżuń, Raciąż, Sierpc, and other localities were forcibly resettled. In the spring of 1942, an additional 200 Jewish refugees from liquidated ghettos sought refuge in Strzegowo. Enclosed by a wooden fence, the ghetto became severely overcrowded, and food shortages grew increasingly dire.
Conditions in the ghetto deteriorated further in 1942. Forced labor was imposed, and terror escalated as Volksdeutsche policemen carried out brutal street shootings, torture, and public punishments. The fear and violence reached a peak on August 6, 1942, when 20 Jews were randomly arrested, sentenced to death, and publicly hanged in the town square on September 2, 1942, in front of their families. The victims’ bodies were buried in a nearby forest, where a monument now commemorates their fate.
The ghetto was liquidated in November 1942 during two violent Aktions. On November 2, the first group of Jews was transported to Mława and subsequently sent to Treblinka. The remaining Jews were deported to Auschwitz on November 24, 1942. Attempts to escape or resist were met with harsh reprisals. For instance, Rebek, the head of the Judenrat, fled with his son in the spring of 1942 but was captured in December while hiding on a Polish farm. Both were executed. Isolated killings of Jews caught in hiding continued in the months that followed.
According to a Yahad witness, a Polish man who entered the empty ghetto in search of goods was also killed by the Germans.
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