Unpaved street in the Frysztak Ghetto

Ghettos were established by Nazi Germany in hundreds of locations across occupied Poland after the German invasion of Poland.[1][2][3] Most ghettos were established between October 1939 and July 1942 in order to confine and segregate Poland's Jewish population of about 3.5 million for the purpose of persecution, terror, and exploitation. In smaller towns, ghettos often served as staging points for Jewish slave-labor and mass deportation actions, while in the urban centers they resembled walled-off prison-islands described by some historians as little more than instruments of "slow, passive murder", with dead bodies littering the streets.[4]

In most cases, the larger ghettos did not correspond to traditional Jewish neighborhoods, and non-Jewish Poles and members of other ethnic groups were ordered to take up residence elsewhere. Smaller Jewish communities with populations under 500 were terminated through expulsion soon after the invasion.[5][6]

The Holocaust

A child lies on the street in the Warsaw Ghetto, May 1941. Photo by the Wehrmacht Propaganda Company 689, now in German Federal Archives

The liquidation of the Jewish ghettos across occupied Poland was closely connected with the construction of secretive death camps—industrial-scale mass-extermination facilities—built in early 1942 for the sole purpose of murder.[7] The Nazi extermination program depended on rail transport, which enabled the SS to run and, at the same time, openly lie to their victims about the "resettlement program". Jews were transported to their deaths in Holocaust trains from liquidated ghettos of all occupied cities, including Łódź Ghetto, the last in Poland to be liquidated in August 1944.[7][8][9] In some larger ghettos there were armed resistance attempts, such as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Białystok Ghetto Uprising, the Będzin and the Łachwa Ghetto uprisings, but in every case they failed against the overwhelming German military force, and the resisting Jews were either executed locally or deported with the rest of prisoners to the extermination camps.[4] By the time Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe was liberated by the Red Army, not a single Jewish ghetto in Poland was left standing.[10] Only about 50,000–120,000 Polish Jews survived the war on native soil, a fraction of their prewar population of 3,500,000.[11][12]

Partial liquidation of the Białystok Ghetto, 15–20 August 1943. Jewish men with their hands up, surrounded by military units

In total, according to archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "The Germans established at least 1000 ghettos in German-occupied and annexed Poland and the Soviet Union alone."[13] The list of locations of the Jewish ghettos within the borders of pre-war and post-war Poland is compiled with the understanding that their inhabitants were either of Polish nationality from before the invasion, or had strong historical ties with Poland. Also, not all ghettos are listed here due to their transient nature. Permanent ghettos were created only in settlements with rail connections, because the food aid (paid by the Jews themselves) was completely dependent on the Germans, making even the potato-peels a hot commodity.[14] Throughout 1940 and 1941, most ghettos were sealed off from the outside, walled off or enclosed with barbed wire, and any Jews found outside them could be shot on sight. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest ghetto in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, with over 400,000 Jews crammed into an area of 3.4 square kilometres (1.3 sq mi), or 7.2 persons per room.[15] The Łódź Ghetto was the second largest, holding about 160,000 inmates.[16] In documents and signage, the Nazis usually referred to the ghettos they created as Jüdischer Wohnbezirk or Wohngebiet der Juden, meaning "Jewish Quarter". By the end of 1941, most Polish Jews were already ghettoized, even though the Germans knew that the system was unsustainable; most inmates had no chance of earning their own keep, and no savings left to pay the SS for further deliveries.[14] The quagmire was resolved at the Wannsee conference of 20 January 1942 near Berlin, where the "Final Solution" (die Endlösung der Judenfrage) was set in place.[17]

List of Jewish ghettos in occupied Poland

The settlements listed in the Polish language,[3] including major cities, had all been renamed after the 1939 joint invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union. Renaming everything in their own image had been one way in which the invaders sought to redraw Europe's political map. All Polish territories were assigned as either Nazi zones of occupation (i.e. Bezirk Bialystok, Provinz Ostpreußen, etc.), or annexed by the Soviet Union, soon to be overrun again in Operation Barbarossa.[3] The Soviet Ukraine and Byelorussia witnessed the "Polish Operation" of the NKVD, resulting in the virtual absence of ethnic Poles in the USSR along the pre-war border with Poland since the Great Purge.[18][19]

Ghetto location in prewar
and postwar Poland[20]
Population Date of
creation
Date of
liquidation
Final
destination
  (in alphabetical order)        (year, month)      (year, month)  
1939–1940
The first ghetto (Piotrków Trybunalski Ghetto) was set up on 8 October 1939, 38 days after the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939.[21] Within months, the most populous Jewish ghettos in World War II, the Warsaw Ghetto and the Łódź Ghetto, had been established.
  Aleksandrów Lódzki 3,500    1939   Dec 1939     to Głowno ghetto
  Bełżyce 4,500    Jun 1940   May 1943     to Budzyń ghetto → Sobibor and Majdanek
  Będzin Ghetto 7,000[3]–28,000[22]  Jul 1940   Aug 1943     to Auschwitz (7,000).[23]
  Błonie 2,100    Dec 1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 2,100)
  Bodzentyn 700    1940   Sep 1942     to Suchedniów ghetto → Treblinka.[24]
  Brześć Kujawski 630    1940   Apr 1942     to Łódź GhettoChełmno death camp
  Brzesko 4,000-6,000 fall 1941 Sept 1942 to Auschwitz and Belzec
  Brzeziny 6,000–6,800    Feb 1940   May 1942     to Łódź GhettoChełmno
  Brzozów 1,000    1940   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Bychawa 2,700    1940   Apr 1941     to Belzyce
  Chęciny 4,000    1940 – Jun 1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
  Ciechanów 5,000[25]  1940   Nov 1942     to labour camps (1,500), Mława Ghetto → Auschwitz,[26] many killed locally.[25]
  Dąbrowa Górnicza 4,000–10,000    1940   Jun 1943     to Auschwitz
  Dęblin–Irena Ghetto 3,300–5,800    Apr 1940   Oct 1942     to Sobibor and Treblinka
  Działoszyce 15,000?    Apr 1940   Oct 1942     to Płaszów and Bełżec extermination camp
  Gąbin 2,000–2,300    1940   Apr 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Głowno 5,600    May 1940   Mar 1941     to Łowicz ghetto and Warsaw Ghetto (5,600)
  Gorlice (labor camp 1st) ?    1940   1942     to Buchenwald, Muszyna, Mielec, see Gorlice Ghetto (1941)
  Góra Kalwaria 3,300    Jan 1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (3,000), 300 killed locally
  Grodzisk Mazowiecki 6,000    1940 – Jan 1941   Oct 1942     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 6,000)
  Grójec 5,200–6,000    Jul 1940   Sep 1942     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 6,000) → Treblinka
  Izbica Kujawska 1,000    1940   Jan 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Jeżów 1,600    1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 1,600)
  Jędrzejów 6,000    Mar 1940   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
  Kazimierz Dolny 2,000–3,500    1940 – Apr 1941   Mar 1942     to Sobibor, and Treblinka
  Kobyłka 1,500    Sep 1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Koło 2,000–5,000    Dec 1940   Dec 1941     to Treblinka (2,000) and Chełmno
  Koniecpol 1,100–1,600    1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Konin 1,500?    Dec 1939   1940 – Mar 1941     to Zagórów & other ghettos → killed locally
  Kozienice 13,000    Jan 1940   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
  Koźminek 2,500    1940   Jul 1942      to Chełmno
  Krasnystaw 2,000    Aug 1940   Oct 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Krośniewice 1,500    May 1940   Mar 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Kutno 7,000    Jun 1940   Mar 1942     to Chełmno
  Legionowo 3,000    1940   1942     to Treblinka
  Łańcut 2,700    Dec 1939   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Łask 4,000    Dec 1940   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Łowicz 8,000–8,200    1940   Mar 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all; with labor camp)[27]
  Łódź Ghetto 200,000    8 Feb 1940   Aug 1944     to Auschwitz and Chełmno extermination camp, labour camps (1,000)
  Marki ?    1940 – Mar 1941   1942     to Warsaw Ghetto
  Mielec 4,000–4,500    1940   Mar 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Mińsk Mazowiecki Ghetto 5,000–7,000    Oct 1940   Aug 1942     to Treblinka, 1,300 killed locally
  Mława 6,000–6,500    Dec 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka and Auschwitz
  Mogielnica 1,500    1940   28 Feb 1942     to Warsaw Ghetto (all) → Treblinka.[28]
  Mordy 4,500    Nov 1940   Aug 1942     to Treblinka
  Myślenice 1,200    1940   Aug 1942     to Skawina Ghetto (all) → Bełżec
  Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki 2,000–4,000    1940 – Jan 1941   Dec 1942     to Pomiechówek ghetto → Auschwitz
  Nowy Korczyn 4,000    1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Opoczno 3,000–4,000    Nov 1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Otwock 12,000–15,000    Dec 1939   Aug 1942     to Treblinka, and Auschwitz
  Pabianice 8,500–9,000    Feb 1940   May 1942     to Łódź GhettoChełmno death camp
  Piaseczno 2,500    1940   Jan 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 2,500)
  Piaski (transit) 10,000    1940   Nov 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp, Sobibor, Trawniki concentration camp
  Piotrków Trybunalski Ghetto 25,000[29]  8 Oct 1939[21] 14 / 21 Oct 1942    to Majdanek and Treblinka (22,000),[29] killed locally also
  Płock 7,000–10,000    1939–1940   Feb 1941     to Działdowo ghetto
  Płońsk 12,000    Sep 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka, Auschwitz
  Poddębice 1,500    Nov 1940   Apr 1942     to Treblinka(?)
  Pruszków 1,400    1940   1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 1,400)
  Przedbórz 4,000–5,000    Mar 1940   Oct 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp and Treblinka
  Puławy 5,000    Nov – Dec 1939   1940     to Opole LubelskieSobibor
  Radomsko 18,000–20,000    1939 – Jan 1940   21 Jul 1943     to Treblinka extermination camp (18,000)
  Radzymin 2,500    Sep 1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Serock 2,000    Feb 1940   Dec 1940     to other ghettos
  Sieradz 2,500–5,000    Mar 1940   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Sierpc 500–3,000    1940   Feb 1942     to Warsaw GhettoTreblinka
  Skaryszew 1,800    1940   Apr 1942     to Szydlowiec
  Skierniewice 4,300–7,000    Dec 1940   Apr 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 7,000)
  Sochaczew 3,000–4,000    Jan 1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 3,000)
  Stalowa Wola 2,500    1940   Jul 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Stryj    12,000    1940–1941   Jun 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Szadek 500    1940   1940     to other ghettos
  Szczebrzeszyn 4,000    1940 – Apr 1941   Oct 1942     to Bełżec death camp, killed locally also
  Tomaszów Mazowiecki 16,000–20,000    Dec 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka (16,000), with 4,000 killed locally
  Tuliszków 230    Dec 1939   Jan 1940     to Kowale PańskieChełmno
  Turek 5,000    1940   Oct 1941     to Kowale Pańskie ghetto (all 5,000)
  Tyszowce 1,500–2,000    1940   Sep 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Uchanie 2,000    1940   Nov 1942     to Sobibor
  Ulanów 500    1940   Oct 1942     to other ghettos
  Uniejów 500    1940   Oct 1941     to Kowale Pańskie ghetto (all 500)
  Warka 2,800    1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 2,800)
  Warta 1,000–2,400    Feb 1940   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Warsaw Ghetto, see Muranów neighbourhood of Warsaw (whole) [30] 445,000    Oct – 15 Nov 1940   Sep 1942     to Treblinka extermination camp (300,000), and Majdanek, Trawniki, Poniatowa
  Włocławek 4,000–13,500    Oct 1940   Apr 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Włodawa 10,500 [31] (sealed) 1941   Apr – May 1943     to Sobibor, also shot locally
  Włoszczowa 4,000–6,000    Jul 1940   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
  Wodzisław 4,000    Jun 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka
  Wołomin 3,000–5,500    1940–1942   Apr 1943     to Treblinka
  Wyszogród 2,700–3,000    Dec 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka
  Zagórów 2,000–2,500    Jul 1940   Oct 1941     all killed locally
  Zamość 12,000–14,000    1940   May 1943     to Izbica GhettoBełżec, Majdanek
  Zduńska Wola 8,300–10,000    1940   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Żychlin 2,800–4,000    Jul 1940   Mar 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Żyrardów 3,000–5,000    Dec 1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 5,000)
1941
Under the codename Operation Barbarossa, Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, followed by the creation of new ghettos and mass murder of Jews by mobile killing squads.
  Augustów 4,000    Oct 1941   Jun 1942     to Treblinka and Auschwitz, shot locally
  Bełchatów 5,500–6,000    Mar 1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Biała Podlaska 7,000–8,400    Jul 1941   Sep 1942     to Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka
  Biała Rawska 4,000    Sep 1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Białystok Ghetto 40,000–50,000    26 Jul 1941   Nov 1943     to Majdanek, Treblinka
  Bielsk Podlaski 11,000–15,100    Aug 1941 Nov 1942   to Treblinka, many killed locally[32][33]
  Biłgoraj 2,500–3,000    1941–1942   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Bobowa 658?[34]  Oct 1941   Aug 1942     to Gorlice and Biecz ghettos
  Bochnia 14,000–15,000    Mar 1941   Sep 1943     to SzebnieBełżec and Auschwitz
  Brześć Litewski Ghetto 18,000    16 Dec 1941   Oct 1942    5,000 shot locally before the ghetto was set up → Bronna Góra ravine [35]
  Busko Zdrój 2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Chełm 8,000–12,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Sobibor
  Chmielnik 10,000–14,000    Apr 1941   Nov 1942     to Treblinka
  Chodel 1,400    Jun 1941   1942     to other ghettos
  Chrzanów 8,000    Nov 1941   Feb 1943     to Auschwitz
  Ciechanowiec 4,000    1941   Nov 1941     to Treblinka
  Ciepielów 600    Dec 1941   15 / 29 Oct 1942[36]    to TreblinkaPolish rescuers killed locally 6 Dec 1942.[37]
  Czeladź 800    Nov 1941   Feb 1943     to Auschwitz
  Częstochowa Ghetto 48,000    9 Apr 1941   22 Sep – 9 Oct 1942     to Treblinka extermination camp
  Ćmielów 1,500–2,000?[38]  1941   Oct (end) 1942     to Treblinka (900),[36] rest murdered locally
  Dąbie 900    1941   Dec 1941     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Dobre 500–1,000    1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
  Drohiczyn 700    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bransk and Bielsk ghettos
  Drzewica 2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Dubienka 2,500–3,000    Jun 1941   Oct 1942     to other ghettos
  Głogów Małopolski (120)?    1941   1942     to Rzeszów ghetto → 5,000 shot locally
  Gniewoszów (open type) 6,580[39]  Dec 1941   Nov 1942     to Zwoleń (5,000); 1,000 → Treblinka
  Goniądz 1,000–1,300    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bogusze ghetto
  Gorlice 4,500    Oct 1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Gostynin 3,500    1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Grajewo 3,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bogusze ghetto
  Hrubieszów (open type) 6,800–10,000    Jun 1941 – May 1942   May – Nov 1943    to Sobibor and Budzyn labour camp, many shot locally, 2,000 fled.[40]
  Iłża 1,900–2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Inowłódz 500–600    1941   Aug 1942     to Tomaszow Mazowiecki ghetto
  Iwacewicze 600    1941[41]  14 Mar 1942     to Słonim Ghetto, all killed locally
  Izbica Ghetto (transit) 12,000–22,700[42]  1941[43]  2 Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp and Sobibor, 4,500 killed locally
  Jasło 2,000–3,000    1941   Aug 1942     to other ghettos
  Jedwabne 100–130    Jul 1941   Nov 1941     to Łomża GhettoTreblinka, 340 killed locally.[44]
  Kalisz 400    1941   1942     to other ghettos
  Kałusz 6,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp, several hundreds executed locally
  Karczew 700    Mar 1941   Oct 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto
  Kielce Ghetto 27,000    Mar 1941   Aug 1942     to Treblinka, with 6,000 killed locally
  Kłobuck 2,000    1941   Jun 1942     to Auschwitz
  Knyszyn 2,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bialystok Ghetto
  Kobryn 8,000    Jun 1941   Oct 1942     all killed locally
  Kock 2,500–3,000    Jun 1941   Dec 1942     to Treblinka
  Kodeń ?    Jun 1941   Sep 1942     to Miedzyrzec Podlaski Ghetto
  Kolbuszowa 2,500    1941   Sep 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Koluszki 2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Końskie 10,000    1941   Jan 1943     to Treblinka
  Korczyn 2,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Kraków Ghetto 20,000 (pop. 68,500)    Mar 1941   Mar 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp and Płaszów; 48,000 expelled in 1940.[45]
  Kraśnik 5,000–6,000    1940–1941   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Krynki 5,000–6,000    Jun – Nov 1941   Nov 1942     to Kiełbasin transit campTreblinka[46]
  Książ Wielki 200?[47]  1941   Nov 1942     to Miechów ghetto
  Kunów 500    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Limanowa 2,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Lipsk 3,000    Dec 1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Lubartów Ghetto 3,269–4,500    Jun 1941   Oct 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Lublin Ghetto 30,000–40,000    24 Mar 1941   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp (30,000)[48] and Majdanek (4,000)
  Lwów Ghetto 115,000–160,000    Jun – Nov 1941   Jun 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp and Janowska concentration camp
  Łapy 600    Jun – Jul 1941   Nov 1942     to Białystok Ghetto
  Łaskarzew 1,300    1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
  Łęczyca 3,000–4,300    1941   Jun 1942     to Chełmno, many killed locally
  Łomża Ghetto 9,000–11,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Auschwitz, many killed locally
  Łosice 5,500–6,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Treblinka
  Łuków 10,000[3]  1941   Oct – Nov 1942     to Treblinka (Oct: 7,000; Nov: 3,000) [49]
  Łuck Ghetto 25,000[3]  Dec 1941   19 / 24 Aug 1942     all killed locally (most at Polanka) [50]
  Maków Mazowiecki 3,500–5,000    1941   Dec 1942     to Treblinka
  Michałowo 1,500    1941   Nov 1942     to Bialystok Ghetto
  Miechów 4,000    1941   1942     to Bełżec (1,000 killed locally)
  Nowe Miasto 3,700    1941   22 Oct 1942     to Treblinka (3,000),[49] rest killed locally
  Nowogródek 6,000?[47]  Jun 1941   Oct 1942     all killed locally
  Nowy Sącz Ghetto 20,000    Aug 1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Nowy Targ 2,500    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Nowy Żmigród 1,300    1941   Jul 1942     all killed locally
  Olkusz 3,000–4,000    1941   Jun 1942     to Auschwitz
  Opatów Ghetto 10,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Opole Lubelskie 8,000–10,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Sobibor and Poniatowa ghetto
  Osiek 500    1941   Jun 1942     to Ożarów ghetto → Treblinka[51]
  Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski 16,000    Apr 1941   10 Jan 1943     to Treblinka
  Ozorków 3,000–5,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Łódź GhettoChełmno
  Pajęczno 3,000    1941   1942     to Łódź Ghetto
  Parczew 7,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Piątek ?    1941   Jul 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Pilzno 788?[34]  1941   Jun 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Pińczów 3,000–3,500    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Pionki (labor camp) 682[52]  1941   Aug 1942     to Zwoleń ghetto → Treblinka
  Połaniec 2,000    1941   1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Praszka ?    1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Rabka 300    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Radom Ghetto 30,000–32,000    Mar 1941   Aug 1942     to Treblinka extermination camp
  Radomyśl Wielki 1,300?[34]  1941   1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Radoszyce 3,200?[53]  1941   Nov 1942     to Treblinka
  Radzyn Podlaski 2,000–3,000    1941   Dec 1942     to Treblinka
  Rajgród 1,200    1941   Nov 1942     to Bogusze
  Rawa Mazowiecka 4,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Rejowiec 3,000    1941   1943     to Auschwitz, Sobibor and Majdanek
  Ropczyce 800    1941   Jul 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Ryki 1,800–3,500    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka and Sobibor
  Rymanów 1,600?[34]  1941   Aug 1942     to Kraków Ghetto, Bełżec extermination camp, killed locally
  Sędziszów Małopolski 2,000    1941   Jan 1942     to Bełżec
  Siedlce Ghetto 12,000–18,000    Jun – Aug 1941   Nov 1942     to Treblinka
  Siemiatycze 7,000    1941   Nov 1942     to Sobibor
  Sieniawa 3,000    1941   1942     all killed locally
  Siennica 700?    1941   15 Sep 1942     to Treblinka (700)[49]
  Skarżysko-Kamienna 3,000    1941   1942     to Treblinka (2,500), the rest killed locally
  Skrzynno ?    1941   Oct 1942     to Opoczno ghetto
  Słonim Ghetto 22,000    Jul 1941   15 Jul 1942[54]    all killed locally (Jul-41: 1,200; Nov: 9,000; Jul-42: 10,000)
  Słuck 3,000–8,500    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     all killed locally
  Sokołów Małopolski 3,000    1941   Jul 1942     to Bełżec
  Sokołów Podlaski 4,000–7,000    Jun 1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
  Sokółka 8,000–9,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to KiełbasinTreblinka
  Solec 800    1941   Dec 1942     to Tarlow ghetto
  Stanisławów Ghetto 20,000    Dec 1941   Feb 1943     killed locally → to Bełżec
  Starachowice 6,000    Apr 1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Stary Sącz 1,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec
  Staszów 7,000    1941   Dec 1942     to Treblinka
  Stopnica 5,000    1941   Nov 1942     to Treblinka, many killed locally
  Strzemieszyce Wielkie 1,800[55]  1940–1941   May – 15 Jun 1942     to Będzin Ghetto (500), Auschwitz (1,400)
  Strzyżów 1,300[55]  1941   26 / 28 Jun 1942     to Rzeszów ghetto, killed locally → Bełżec
  Suchedniów 5,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Treblinka
  Sulejów 1,500    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Szczuczyn 2,000    1941   Jul – Nov 1942     to Bogusze transit camp, killed locally
  Śniadowo 650    1941   Nov 1942     to Zambrow ghetto
  Tarczyn 1,600    1941   Feb 1942     to Treblinka
  Tarnobrzeg (ghetto & camp) 500[56]  Jun 1941   Jul 1942     to Dębica ghetto → Bełżec
  Tarnogród 2,600–5,000    1941   Nov 1942     to Bełżec from ghetto & camp, many killed locally
  Tarnopol Ghetto 20,000    Jul – Aug 1941   Jun 1943     to Bełżec, many killed locally
  Tarnów 40,000    Mar 1941   Sep 1943     10,000 killed locally, Bełżec (10,000), Auschwitz
  Tomaszów Lubelski 1,400–1,500    1941   Oct 1942     to Bełżec
  Tyczyn ?    1941   Jul 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Wadowice 1,400[57]  1941   Aug 1943     to Auschwitz
  Wąwolnica 2,500    1941   May 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Węgrów 6,000–8,300    1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
  Wieliczka 7,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Wielun 4,200–7,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp, killed locally
  Wieruszów 1,400    1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Wilno Ghetto 30,000–80,000[3]  Sep 1941   Sep 1943    killed locally (21,000 before ghetto was set up)[58]
  Wiślica 2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Jędrzejów ghetto
  Wolbrom 3,000–5,000    1941   Sep 1942     to Bełżec, many killed locally
  Wysokie Mazowieckie 5,000    1941   Nov 1942     to Zambrow ghetto
  Zabłudów 1,800[59]  Jul 1941   2 Nov 1942     10th Calvary camp near BiałystokTreblinka (1,400)
  Zambrów 3,200–4,000    1941   Jan 1943     to Auschwitz, mass killings locally
  Zawiercie 5,000–7,000    1941   Oct 1943     to Auschwitz (5,000)
  Zelów ?    1941   Sep 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Zwoleń (open type) 6,500–10,000[60]  1941   29 Sep 1942     to Treblinka extermination camp (8,000)[61]
  Żarki 3,200    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Żelechów 5,500–13,000    1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka
1942
On January 20, 1942, at the Wannsee conference near Berlin, Reinhard Heydrich informed senior Nazi officials that "the final solution of the Jewish question" was deportation from the ghettos and subsequent mass extermination of the Jews. Implementation plan developed. Six death factories were built by German firms in occupied Poland within two-to-six months.
  Andrychów 700    Sep 1942   Nov 1943     to Auschwitz concentration camp
  Annopol ?    Jun 1942   Oct 1942     to Kraśnik ghetto
  Baranów Sandomierski 2,000    Jun 1942   Jul 1942     to Dębica ghetto, (all)
  Biecz 700–800    Apr 1942   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Czortków 4,000    Apr 1942   Sep 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Dąbrowa Tarnowska 2,400–3,000    Oct 1942   Sep 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp and Auschwitz
  Dębica 1,500–4,000    1942   Mar 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Drohobycz Ghetto 10,000    Mar 1942   Jun 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Dubno 9,000?    Apr 1942   Oct 1942     all killed locally
  Frysztak Ghetto 1,600[34]  1942   18 Aug 1942     to Jasło ghetto → killed in Warzyce forest
  Hrubieszów (labor camp) 200[40]  May 1942   May 1943     to Budzyn, killed locally, see Hrubieszów # 122 above (6,800)
  Jasienica Rosielna 1,500    1942   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Kołomyja (ghetto & camp) 18,000    1942   Feb 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp, many killed locally
  Koprzywnica 1,800    1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Kowale Pańskie 3,000–5,000    1939–1942   1942     to Chełmno extermination camp
  Kowel 17,000    May 1942   Oct 1942     all killed locally
  Kraśnik (ghetto & camp) 5,000    1940–1942   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Krosno 600–2,500    Aug 1942   Dec 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Lesko 2,000    1942   Sep 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Lubaczów 4,200–7,000    Oct 1942   Jan 1943     to Sobibor, many killed locally
  Łachwa Ghetto 2,350    4 Apr 1942   Sep 1942     killed locally, 1,500 in an uprising.[62]
  Łęczna 3,000    Jun 1942   Nov 1942     to Sobibor, many killed locally
  Międzyrzec Podlaski Ghetto 20,000    28 Aug 1942   18 Jul 1943[63]    to Treblinka (17,000), hundreds killed locally.[64]
  Ożarów 4,500    Jan 1942   Oct 1942     to Treblinka
  Pińsk Ghetto 26,200    Apr 1942   Oct 1942     to Bronna Góra (3,500), the rest killed locally
  Przemyśl 22,000–24,000    Jul 1942   Sep 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp, Auschwitz, Janowska
  Przeworsk 1,400?[34]  Jul 1942   Oct 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Przysucha 2,500–5,000    Jul – 15 Aug 1942   27 / 31 Oct 1942[65]    to Treblinka (5,000)[66]
  Sambor Ghetto 8,000–9,000    Mar 1942   Jul 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp, many killed locally
  Sosnowiec Ghetto 12,000    Oct 1942   Aug 1943     to Auschwitz
  Starachowice (labor camp) 13,000    1942   1942     to Treblinka, see also Starachowice ghetto
  Stryj 4,000–12,000    1942   Jun 1943     all killed locally
  Sucha Beskidzka 400[67]  1942   1943     to Auschwitz
  Szydłów 1,000    Jan 1942   Oct 1942     to Chmielnik ghetto
  Tarnogród (labor camp) 1,000    1942   1942     see Tarnogród ghetto → Bełżec extermination camp
  Tomaszów M. (labor camp) 1,000    1942   May 1943     to Starachowice,[68] see also Tomaszów Mazowiecki Ghetto (1940)
  Tuchów 3,000    Jun 1942   Sep 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp
  Zdzięcioł Ghetto 4,500    22 Feb 1942   30 Apr – 6 Aug 1942     killed locally during Zdzięcioł massacres

Aftermath

Jewish women and children rounded up for deportation to a death camp during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The ghetto inhabitants – most of whom were murdered during Operation Reinhard – possessed Polish citizenship before the Nazi–Soviet invasion of Poland, which in turn enabled over 150,000 Holocaust survivors registered at CKŻP to take advantage of the later repatriation agreements between the governments of Poland and the Soviet Union, and legally emigrate to the West to help form the nascent State of Israel.[69] Poland was the only Eastern Bloc country to allow free Jewish aliyah without visas or exit permits upon the conclusion of World War II.[70] By contrast, Stalin forcibly brought Soviet Jews back to USSR along with all Soviet citizens, as agreed to in the Yalta Conference.[71]

Some Jewish populations remained in the ghettos after their destruction. Many Jewish people were not able to leave the ghettos, either because they were too destitute or because they were still surrounded by Germans.[72] This resulted in many of the ghettos' inhabitants dying from harsh conditions such as exposure, lack of food, and diseases. Those who left faced the challenge of seeking a place where they as displaced people could be resettled.[73]

See also

Notes and references

  1. Yitzhak Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1987.
  2. Biuletyn Głównej Komisji Badania Zbrodni Hitlerowskich w Polsce, Wydawnictwo Prawnicze, 1960.  (in Polish)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The statistical data compiled on the basis of "Glossary of 2,077 Jewish towns in Poland" Archived 2016-02-08 at the Wayback Machine by Virtual Shtetl Museum of the History of the Polish Jews  (in English), as well as "Getta Żydowskie," by Gedeon, Archived November 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine  (in Polish) and "Ghetto List" by Michael Peters at ARC 2005  (in English). Some figures might require further confirmation due to their comparative range.
  4. 1 2 Berenbaum, Michael (2006). The World Must Know. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 114. ISBN 978-0801883583.
  5. "The War Against The Jews". The Holocaust Chronicle, 2009. Chicago, Illinois. Accessed June 21, 2011.
  6. Wojciech Roszkowski, Historia Polski 1914–1997 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Warsaw 1998. PDF file, 46.0 MB (available with purchase). Chomikuj.pl, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Dwork, Deborah and Robert Jan Van Pelt,The Construction of Crematoria at Auschwitz, W.W. Norton & Co., 1996.
  8. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – Online Exhibition: Give Me Your Children: Voices from the Lodz Ghetto Archived 2013-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
  9. University of Minnesota, Majdanek Death Camp
  10. Edward Victor, "Ghettos and Other Jewish Communities." Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine Judaica Philatelic. Accessed June 20, 2011.
  11. Richard C. Lukas, Out of the Inferno: Poles Remember the Holocaust, University Press of Kentucky 1989, 201 pages. p. 13; also in Richard C. Lukas, The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939–1944, University Press of Kentucky, 1986, Google Print, p.13.
  12. Gunnar S. Paulsson, "The Rescue of Jews by Non-Jews in Nazi-Occupied Poland," Journal of Holocaust Education, Vol. 7, Nos. 1&2, 1998, pp. 19–44. Published by Frank Cass, London.
  13. "Types of Ghettos". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
  14. 1 2 Peter Vogelsang & Brian B. M. Larsen, "The Ghettos of Poland". Archived 2013-10-22 at the Wayback Machine Danish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. 2002.
  15. Warsaw Ghetto, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Washington, D.C.
  16. Ghettos, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  17. François Furet, Unanswered Questions: Nazi Germany and the Genocide of the Jews. Schocken Books (1989), p. 182; ISBN 0-8052-4051-9
  18. "A letter from Timothy Snyder of Bloodlands: Two genocidaires, taking turns in Poland". The Book Haven. Stanford University. December 15, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  19. Tomasz Sommer (2010). Execute the Poles: The Genocide of Poles in the Soviet Union, 1937–1938. Documents from Headquarters. Warsaw: 3S Media. p. 277. ISBN 978-83-7673-020-2. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  20. Location names in other languages are available through the active links.
  21. 1 2 Yad Vashem. "Piotrkow Trybunalski" (PDF). Shoah Resource Center. The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.
  22. Maciej i Ewa Szaniawscy, "Zagłada Żydów w Będzinie w świetle relacji" (Extermination of Jews in the light of testimony) Archived 2012-02-22 at the Wayback Machine.  (in Polish) According to 1946 research by Wojewódzka Żydowska Komisja Historyczna in Katowice, wrote Maciej i Ewa Szaniawscy, there were around 30,000 Jews in Będzin following the invasion, including those who came in from neighbouring settlements. Between October 1940 and May 1942, the first 4,000 Jews were deported. In May 1942 additional 2,000 and in August, 5,000 more. Deportations between August 1942 and mid June 1943 amounted to additional 5,000. On 22 June 1943 the next transport of 5,000 Jews departed to Auschwitz, and finally, between 1–3 August 1943, the remaining 8,000 were sent away. The dispersed Jews who stayed, amounting to 1,000 persons, were deported between early October 1943 and July 1944. In total, about 28,000 Jews are believed to have been deported from the Będzin Ghetto. This information however, is not confirmed by the two main sources of the remaining data nor the Jewish Historical Institute, listing only 7,000 victims.
  23. Będzin in the Jewish Historical Institute community database. Archived February 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Warsaw.
  24. Iwona Pogorzelska, Bodzentyn od 1869 roku do niepodległości. Polska.pl. Accessed June 16, 2011.
  25. 1 2 Martyna Sypniewska. "Historia Żydów w Ciechanowie" [History of the Jews in Ciechanów]. Jewish Historical Institute (ŻIH), Dział Dokumentacji Zabytków; J. Szczepański, D. Piotrowicz (in Polish). Virtual Shtetl (Wirtualny Sztetl). Archived from the original on 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2016-03-25. Czerwony Bór massacres.
  26. Patrycja Bukalska (20 January 2010). "Róża Robota postanowiła walczyć do końca" [Róża Robota chose to fight till the end]. Pamięć Auschwitz (4/2010). Tygodnik Powszechny.
  27. "Getto w Łowiczu," at Miejsca martyrologii, Wirtualny Sztetl. Instytut Adama Mickiewicza.  (in Polish)
  28. "Cmentarz żydowski w Mogielnicy Jewish cemetery in Mogielnica". cmentarze-zydowskie.pl.
  29. 1 2 Piotrków Trybunalski – Getto w Piotrkowie Trybunalskim. Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Virtual Shtetl. Museum of the History of the Polish Jews. Accessed July 1, 2011.
  30. "Angelika Lasiewicz-Sych, "Traces of the past", Kultura Współczesna nr 4 (38), 2003". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  31. Virtual Shtetl. "Jewish history of Włodawa" (in Polish). POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Olszewski E., Szczygieł R. (1991), Dzieje Włodawy, Lublin – Włodawa. Deportations to Sobibór took place in waves: 1,300 Jews in May 1942, 5,400 in October, 2,800 in November 1942, and 2,000 in April 1943. Resource Guides. "Remember Jewish Wlodawa". With maps and family photographs. Genealogy Group.
  32. Browning, Christopher R. (2012). "Białystok Region (Distrikt Bialystok)". The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945, Volume II. Indiana University Press. pp. 855–988. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050wk1.19. ISBN 9780253355997. JSTOR j.ctt2050wk1.19.
  33. "The Bielsk Podlaski Ghetto - Eyewitness Holocaust testimony of life and death in the Bielsk Podlaski ghetto". JewishGen KehilaLinks.
  34. "Brześć – History". Virtual Shtetl, Museum of the History of Polish Jews. p. 12. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  35. 1 2 Yitzhak Arad, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka: The Operation Reinhard Death Camps. Indiana University Press. "Appendix A." p. 395.
  36. "Życie za Życie" (Righteous of Ciepielów who paid the ultimate price)." Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine Urząd Gminy w Ciepielowie.  (in Polish). Accessed July 6, 2011.
  37. "Ćmielów – Historia," Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich Wirtualny Sztetl (Museum of the History of the Polish Jews). Accessed July 6, 2011.
  38. Geoffrey P. Megargee; Christopher Browning; Martin Dean (2012). "Gniewoszów". The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. pp. 224–225. ISBN 978-0-253-35599-7.
  39. 1 2 The Hrubieszow Genealogy Group. ShtetLinks Project. Accessed June 30, 2011.
  40. "Getto w Iwacewiczach". Virtual Shtetl. Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  41. "Getta tranzytowe w dystrykcie lubelskim". Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2015.. Pamięć Miejsca. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  42. "Izbica. History". Virtual Shtetl. Museum of the History of Polish Jews. pp. 3 of 6. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  43. The 90th session of the Senate of the Republic of Poland. Stenograph, part 2.2. Archived 2008-04-23 at the Wayback Machine A Report by Leon Kieres, president of the Institute of National Remembrance, for the period from July 1, 2,000 to June 30, 2001. Donald Tusk presiding. See statement by Senator Jadwiga Stokarska.  (in Polish)
  44. Kraków – History. Page 3. Virtual Shtetl, Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Accessed July 12, 2011.
  45. Niemiecki obóz tranzytowy Kiełbasin w Grodnie (wul. Sołamawaj) (Kiełbasin transit camp), Virtual Shtetl, POLIN Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich 2015. Accessed November 15, 2015.
  46. 1 2 Jack Kugelmass, Jonathan Boyarin, Zachary M. Baker, From a ruined garden: the memorial books of Polish Jewry, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Accessed June 27, 2011.
  47. Jack Fischel (1998). The Holocaust. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-313-29879-0.
  48. 1 2 3 "Treblinka Death Camp Day-by-Day," Archived May 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine at Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team (www.HolocaustResearchProject.org). Accessed June 30, 2011.
  49. YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, Lutsk. "Following the Soviet liberation of Łuck in February 1944, only about 150 Jews returned. By 1959, just 600 Jews were living in Lutsk. The fortified synagogue was turned into a movie theater and later into a sports hall. A residential area was constructed on the site of the Rabbinite and Karaite cemeteries."
  50. "Osiek. History of Jewish community". Virtual Shtetl. Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  51. Geoffrey P. Megargee; Christopher Browning; Martin Dean (2009). "Pionki by Jolanta Kraemer". The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. pp. 278–279. ISBN 978-0-253-35599-7. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  52. Piotr Berghof, "Radoszyce, wspomnienie o żydowskich mieszkańcach miasteczka."  (in Polish). Accessed June 27, 2011.
  53. Słonim – History. Jewish community. Virtual Shtetl. Museum of the History of Polish Jews.  (in Polish) Accessed July 7, 2011. The prewar Polish city of Słonim was overrun by the Red Army in September 1939 and confiscated as part of Western Belarus. The influx of refugees from Nazi-occupied Poland increased its Jewish population to 27,000. Over 1,000 were deported to Siberia by the NKVD. Following German invasion of USSR, the ghetto was set up in August 1941, but mass executions began already on 17 July (1,200 men shot just outside the city). A second shooting action took place on 14 November 1941 with 9,000 killed. The ghetto was burned to the ground with all its inhabitants between 29 June and 15 July 1942 following a revolt. Only about 500 managed to escape.
  54. 1 2 Shmuel Spector; Geoffrey Wigoder (2001). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust. NYU Press. p. 1255. ISBN 978-0-8147-9356-5.
  55. "Tarnobrzeg. Warto zobaczyć" (Tarnobrzeg worth seeing), Wydawnictwo Bezdroża. Accessed June 27, 2011.
  56. Wadowice – Historia. Wirtualny Sztetl.  (in Polish). Accessed June 27, 2011.
  57. "Chronology of Vilna Ghetto," Archived 2017-10-23 at the Wayback Machine at Vilnaghetto.com without additional confirmation of quantitative data. Accessed June 24, 2011.
  58. "The Deportation of the Zabludow Jews to Treblinka Death Camp." Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine 2003 Tilford Bartman, Jerusalem, Israel.
  59. Geoffrey P. Megargee; Christopher Browning; Martin Dean (2009). "Radom Region by Jolanta Kraemer". The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. pp. 355–356. ISBN 978-0-253-35599-7.
  60. Daniel Blatman (Summer 2003). Translated by Judy Montel. "Zwolen". Pinkas HaKehillot, Polen, Volume VII (Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1999), Pages 187–189. Kielce-Radom SIG Journal Volume 7, Number 3: 8–9.
  61. "Lachwa, Polesie province, Poland.", The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945
  62. "The History of Miedzyrzec Podlaski." Association of Immigrants of Mezritch Depodalsia Area in Israel. Accessed July 5, 2011.
  63. "Mezritch (Międzyrzec) Podlaski in the Jewish sources." Association of Immigrants of Mezritch Depodalsia. Accessed June 16, 2011.
  64. Przysucha, województwo Mazowieckie, Polska. Haapalah Index and Source Database. Accessed July 5, 2011.
  65. Przysucha – History. Virtual Shtetl. Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Accessed July 5, 2011.
  66. Gmina Sucha Beskidzka, powiat suski. Targeo.  (in Polish). Accessed June 27, 2011.
  67. Stefan Krakowski, Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed June 24, 2001.
  68. Philipp Ther; Ana Siljak (2001). Redrawing nations: ethnic cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944–1948. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-7425-1094-4. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  69. Devorah Hakohen, Immigrants in turmoil: mass immigration to Israel and its repercussions... Syracuse University Press, 2003 – 325 pages. Page 70. ISBN 0-8156-2969-9
  70. Arieh J. Kochavi, Post-Holocaust politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish refugees, 1945–1948. Page 15. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2620-0 Accessed June 20, 2011.
  71. "After the Uprising: Life Among the Ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto | Holocaust Survivors Describe the Last Months in the Warsaw Ghetto – Voices from the Inferno | Yad Vashem".
  72. "Holocaust Timeline: Aftermath". fcit.usf.edu.
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