Ochotnica Dolna | Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Mass Executions in Ochotnica, Ochotnica Dolna Commune (Nowy Targ County)

In the autumn of 1942, Gestapo officers executed 15 Jewish residents in Ochotnica. The victims were buried in a location known as Młynne. According to historical records, the identified victims included:

• Feldschreiber, Kalmon, approx. 50 years old

• Fogelhut, [first name unknown], approx. 50 years old

• Förster, [first name unknown], father, approx. 55 years old

• Förster, [first name unknown], son, approx. 18 years old

• Hochhauser, Izaak, approx. 20 years old

• Hochhauser, Jemen, approx. 24 years old

• Kempler, Dawid, approx. 50 years old

• Mesinger, Salomon, approx. 45 years old

• Szlachet, Salomon, approx. 37 years old

• Süssman, Gesla, approx. 30 years old

• Süssman, [first name unknown]

• Wencelberger, Moryc, approx. 50 years old

• Two unnamed Jewish women

• One unnamed Jewish man

Source: AGK, ASG, sygn.10, k. 556; AGK, Ankieta GK “Egzekucje” pow. Nowy Targ, woj. Krakowskie

Mass Execution Report – February 18, 1943

During Nazi anti-Jewish operations in the region, a total of 169 individuals were executed. The victims included:

• 59 men

• 66 women

• 44 children

Of these, 12 victims were buried in Ochotnica, while the remaining 157 were interred in Nowy Targ.

[AGK, Ankieta GK « Represje… » pow. Nowy Targ, woj. Krakowskie]

Ochotnica Dolna is a village in Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It serves as the administrative seat of Gmina Ochotnica Dolna and lies approximately 23 km (14 miles) east of Nowy Targ and 65 km (40 miles) south-east of the regional capital, Kraków.

Before the Second World War, the Jewish population in the Gorce region—including the villages of Tylmanowa, Ochotnica Dolna, and Ochotnica Górna—had grown significantly, numbering around 250 individuals across more than 20 families. These communities generally lived in concentrated neighborhoods situated near main roads.

In Tylmanowa, Jewish residents were primarily located in the settlements of Burdel, Piszczki, and Rzeka. Many operated small shops selling essential goods such as sugar, kerosene, and salt to a largely impoverished local population.

In Ochotnica Dolna, the largest concentration of Jewish residents lived in the Dłubacze settlement, with other families residing in Brysiówka and Hologówka. According to Maria Sh., a local witness born in 1931 and interviewed by Yahad - In Unum, several Jewish families were part of her childhood social circle. She recalled friends named Anita, Lila, and Rutka (the latter two were twins), and remembered the Wencelberger family—Heniek, Erwin, and their father, David—who lived on her street. Other names she recalled include Süssman, Josek, Appel, Hochhauzer, Mesinger, and Fogelhut, as well as the Glanda family and the daughter of the Weiss family. She mentioned that three separate Weiss families lived in the area, one of whom even owned a car—a rarity at the time.

Jewish families in Ochotnica Dolna were primarily engaged in trade and small business. Jewish and Polish children attended school together, sharing similar daily experiences. The closest Jewish cemetery was located in Krościenko nad Dunajcem.

In Ochotnica Górna, the Jewish community was centered along the main road from Kołodziejówka to Kopcówka. Zofia W., born in 1923 and also interviewed by Yahad - In Unum, recalled her Jewish neighbors from the prewar period. Among them were Englender, the village baker; Lajber, who sold horses; and Kalwan, the local rabbi.

Ochotnica Górna was also home to modern sawmills owned by the affluent Apfelbaum family, Tadeusz and Berta, who had moved to the village from Tarnów. In the interwar years, the Apfelbaums acquired large tracts of forest and estate land, reflecting a segment of the Jewish community that had attained significant economic success in the region.

Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, German forces—often assisted by Slovak units in the Podhale region—rapidly advanced and took control of the area. Major towns such as Zakopane and Nowy Targ were occupied on the very first day of the war. However, the systematic destruction of Jewish life in Ochotnica began later, in the spring of 1942.

The first documented mass killing of Jewish residents in Ochotnica and Tylmanowa took place on April 28, 1942. On that day, Gestapo officers Arno Sehmisch and Robert Philip Weissman, arriving from the Gestapo headquarters known as the "Palace" in Zakopane, drove through Tylmanowa toward Ochotnica, initiating a wave of executions. During this operation, they killed over twenty individuals, including members of the Judenrat and children. The victims were selected both at random and from among the local leadership.

The killings continued throughout the spring and summer of 1942. By August of that year, at least 37 Jewish individuals had been killed in a series of executions. Their bodies were buried in makeshift graves at various locations, including an area called Młynne in the Krzyśki section of Ochotnica and along the river in Tylmanowa.

According to witnesses interviewed by Yahad - In Unum, isolated killings also occurred during this period. Maria Sh., born in 1931, recalled that all the Jews executed in Ochotnica were buried at Młynne. She remembered that seven members of the Weiss family were shot in the village, and that Szmul Szlachet and Mosiek Wencelberg were killed directly behind her house, in their own garden. She witnessed the Germans escorting them to the site, and saw two soldiers carry out the shooting. She described this as the first execution in the village. On the same day, six more Jews were murdered. Mosiek’s wife and children were spared for a time and were cared for by villagers for about a year. Eventually, they were sent to Nowy Targ, where they too were executed.

These killings foreshadowed a broader extermination campaign in the region. On August 30, 1942, approximately 150 remaining Jews from Ochotnica were forced to march to Nowy Targ under the guard of German forces and local Blue Police. During the march, in the village of Łopuszna, German soldiers opened fire on the group, killing an unknown number. Further executions took place upon their arrival in Nowy Targ. The majority of the deportees were transported to the Bełżec extermination camp, where they were murdered in the gas chambers. Out of a combined Jewish population of over 227 people from Ochotnica and Tylmanowa, only eight are known to have survived the war.

It is estimated that several dozen Jews are buried in the Młynne area. A mass grave located in the meadow in the Krzyśki section contains the remains of between 15 and 22 individuals, including Judenrat members and other victims. Among those identified in this grave are members of the Feldschreiber, Fogelhut, Förster, Hochhauser, Kempler, Mesinger, Szlachet, Süssman, and Wencelberger families, as well as three unidentified individuals. Nearby lies an unmarked burial site believed to contain the family of a deputy rabbi, though their names and the exact number of victims remain unknown. During the broader anti-Jewish operations in the region, 169 individuals were executed—59 men, 66 women, and 44 children. Of these, 12 were buried in Ochotnica, and it is presumed that some of these additional victims also lie in Młynne or in its immediate vicinity.