Pawlikowice | Lesser poland Voivodeship

Franciszek B., born in 1932: “Before the war, both Jewish and Catholic families lived in Pawlikowice. When the Wieliczka ghetto was established, all the Jewish residents from my village were transported there by cart.” ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Stanisława N., born in 1929: “When the Germans arrived in Wieliczka, they immediately gathered all the wealthy Jews into one house and took them to Pawlikowice, where they were all shot.” ©Victoria Bahr/Yahad – In Unum Franciszek B., born in 1932: “One morning, while I was at school, the Germans and the Granatowa police, brought a group of over 10 Jews here to be killed. We watched the scene through the classroom window.” ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Franciszek B., born in 1932: “The truck stopped a bit further away, and two Germans brought the Jews deeper in the bushes, when they executed them. Later, their bodies were taken to the Jewish cemetery.” ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum Franciszek B., born in 1932: “A Jewish man from Pawlikowice named Szmilek hid near the river. With the help of local villagers, he survived the war and later settled in Kraków.” ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum The killing and initial burial site of 32 Jews from Wieliczka brought to Pawlikowice by the Germans to be killed. The bodies were later exhumed, and today bushes cover the site. ©Piotr Malec/Yahad – In Unum

Destruction of Jews in from Wieliczka in Pawlikowice

1 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:
Field
Memorials:
No
Period of occupation:
1939-1944
Number of victims:
32

Witness interview

Franciszek B., born in 1932: "Before the war, both Catholics and Jews lived in Pawlikowice. There were three Jewish-owned shops in the village where people bought basic goods. One of the shopkeepers was named Kauma, who lived here with his son Szmilek, a man of about 28 or 30 years old. Kauma ran a store that sold, among other things, school supplies, while Szmilek was a talented painter.

Another Jewish resident of Pawlikowice was named Markus. He lived at the fork in the road leading to the village of Siercza.

When the war broke out, the Germans began conducting raids targeting Jews, so some of them went into hiding to avoid being deported to ghettos or killed. Szmilek found a hiding place in Pawlikowice, near the river. From time to time, he would go around to people’s homes and do small painting jobs in exchange for food.

He managed to stay in hiding for a while. I myself used to bring him soup that my grandfather had prepared. I would leave the bowl in the bushes near the river, and when I came back a few hours later, the bowl would be empty—and washed.

Szmilek survived the war, returned here, and sold his land, leaving a portion of it to the village as a gift for the construction of a community center." (Witness N°1072P, interviewed in Pawlikowice, on June 22, 2019)

Polish Archives

"32 Jewish men were executed on 12.09.1939 on the property of Antoni Krzyżak in Pawlikowice. The bodies were buried at the Jewish cemetery in Siercza." [Court Inquires about Killings and Mass Graves

(...) Ankieta Sądów Grodzkich; RG-15.019 Reel #3 Part % – Pages 146–151/316 PDF]

 

Historical note

Pawlikowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wieliczka, within Wieliczka County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland.

Not much is known about the Jewish community of Pawlikowice before the Second World War, but fragments of testimony collected by Yahad and some historical records help reconstruct aspects of its presence and fate.

Before 1939, Pawlikowice was home to both Catholic and Jewish residents. The Jewish population, though small in number, was integrated into the local economy and everyday life. Testimonies recall at least three Jewish-owned shops that supplied villagers with basic goods. One of the better-known families was that of Kauma and his son Szmilek. Kauma operated a store selling, among other things, school supplies, while Szmilek was known as a skilled painter who often worked locally.

Another Jewish resident, Markus, lived near a fork in the road leading to the village of Siercza. These recollections suggest a peaceful coexistence in a rural setting, where Jewish families contributed to the community and were known by name.

The closest significant Jewish community was in Wieliczka, about 4 km from Pawlikowice. Wieliczka had a well-established Jewish population, with a synagogue, religious schools, and a cemetery in the nearby village of Siersza. Jews from surrounding villages, including Pawlikowice, likely participated in religious life and trade there.

 

Holocaust by bullets in figures

On September 7, 1939, shortly after the German entry into Wieliczka, the persecution of the Jewish population of the town and surrounding areas began and escalated quickly. On September 12, members of the SS-Totenkopf unit arrived in Wieliczka. They arrested 32 Jewish men and brought them to the nearby village of Pawlikowice, where they shot them.

The testimony of Franciszek B., a local resident born in 1932 and interviewed by Yahad in 2019, most likely refers to this shooting described in the archives. As a first- or second-grade student at the time, Franciszek witnessed the event through the window of his classroom. He recalled seeing two German soldiers, accompanied by several officers of the Granatowa (Blue) Police, arrive in a truck and force about ten Jewish men out of the vehicle. The victims were led a short distance away and shot in nearby bushes. While his account mentions slightly more than ten victims—fewer than the 32 reported to have been shot on September 12, 1939—it is possible that he witnessed a different shooting, or only part of it. He noted that his teacher quickly stopped the students from watching, which may explain the discrepancy in numbers.

After the shooting, local men requisitioned by the village sołtys (chief) were ordered to bury the bodies on-site. The victims’ remains were later exhumed and reinterred in the Jewish cemetery in Wieliczka, which was located in the area of the present-day village of Siercza (also known as Grabówki).

The Jewish residents of Pawlikowice were taken to nearby Wieliczka, where they shared the fate of the other Jews who had been gathered there. Only one Jewish man from Pawlikowice is known to have survived the war.

For more information about the killing of Jews in Wieliczka, please refer to the corresponding profile.

 

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