Kielce and its tragic history of the Jewish Community in the 1940s

Kielce has a long history, and the Polish patriotic fight against the big powers' partition of Poland played a role in Kielce as well.
American Revolution hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko resided in Kielce during the struggle to prevent the dismemberment of Poland, and the place identifies the house from which he directed and led the fight.


Kielce - a thriving town with a troubled past... I was not sure how to feel as I walked the streets and visited the Memorials to the murdered community members, Polish and Jewish...
The Memorial to the children killed by the Nazis in 1943 - the children had been hidden and when they were discovered, the SS murdered them and sent their families to Treblinka to be killed...



And when I realized that this hotel is located where the big ghetto was created, I shuddered and I am further convinced that being here in Kielce and remembering the dead at the memorials and monuments is a very important part of this journey.

The Memorial dedicated to the memory of the children murdered during the 1946 pogrom - the items decorating the tomb are the creations of children of Kielce who commit to keeping alive the memory of the youngest victims of the Kielce pogrom.

Detail of the center of the Monument to remember the victims of the 1946 pogrom - the reflection of the living and growing trees and overhead clouds provides a strong contrast... life and death, memory and challenge.
The Jewish cemetary was locked. We had to visit a local woman who keeps the key to the gate who requires visitors to leave identity cards to protect the cemetary and respect sacred memory.

Memorials to the Righteous Poles who acted to support and save Jewish neighbors on the site of the former (now destroyed) synagogue in Kielce. The building was renovated and now houses the Archives for the region. I was disappointed to see antisemitic graffiti (somewhat covered over) splashed across the wall opposite of the monument to the Righteous Poles...

The Memorial titled "White/Wash" to commemorate and remember the victims of the July 1946 pogrom. The design echoes the tiled walls of cellars into which victims of the pogrom and other state terror were taken to be shot; the 42 dark spots represent each victim - adults and children - who were killed. The state agents responsible for such actions could quickly replace the tile damaged as they murdered the victims. You will thus notice that the dark tiles indicate the victims' heights...and ages...


"...let this memorial be a warning to people and a cry for tolerance and mutual understanding between neighbors..."
















History of the Ghetto and anti-Jewish actions by German occupiers and post-WWII by Polish residents in Kielce: http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/kielce%20ghetto.html
Ghetto Map at http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/pic/bigkielce7.jpg
Our hotel is located in the former big ghetto area...

News article: "MEANWHILE : In a Polish City With a Dark Past, A Visit With One of the 'Rescuers'" at http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/09/opinion/09iht-edari.t.html
"...Kielce is as unlikely as any place in Poland to be the home of a rescuer, for the city is known for one of the ugliest acts of postwar anti-Semitism. After the Nazi defeat in 1945, thousands of surviving Polish Jews returned, battered and bereaved, to their homes. In Kielce, the survivors were welcomed back with a bloody pogrom that took 42 lives. The date was July 4, 1946. Within months some 100,000 Jews had fled the country. Today there are about 15,000 Jews left in Poland...."