Men, women, children, old and sick were chased out of their homes and driven like cattle to the gathering place. Jedwabne massacre, jedwabne, poland, 1941 lc linked data. The massacre in jedwabne the institute of world politics. Jul 12, 2016 jedwabne, poland jta as german army troops invaded eastern poland, ichak lewins family fled their town of wizna. On july 10, 1941 in jedwabne, in the lomza region, the germans ordered that.
A disturbing account of a polish towns complicity in killing jews, and the difficulties the author. On july 10, 1941, the polish villagers of jedwabne engaged in a mad orgy of torture and murder, aimed at their jewish neighbors. The massacre in jedwabne, 10 july 1941 2005 marek jan chodakiewiczs book the massacre in jedwabne, 10 july 1941. It is mentioned quite often throughout the yizkor book, and ive chosen some of those references to highlight here. What happened in poland an exchange by gordon black the. Oct 15, 2015 polish author reopens minefield of who killed jedwabne s jews. According to the conclusions of the judicial investigation in bialystok terminated in 2002 in july 1941 were killed in jedwabne at least three hundred. Gross, professor of politics and european studies at new york university, describes the massacre of the jewish population of the small rural community of jedwabne, poland on july 10, 1941. Chodakiewicz provides us with a criminal investigation of this mass murder. The horrible day of the 15th of tamuz, 5701, corresponding to july 10th, 1941, must be made known to the world. Jedwabne, in the bialystok district of north central poland, was occupied briefly by the wehrmacht during the polishgerman.
Jedwabne town sign memorial to holocaust victims grandchildren of the surviving lewin family originally from wizna, now living in israel holding up sign memorializing the 40 wizna families killed in jedwabne. The destruction of the jewish community in jedwabne. Jedwabne timeline of remebrance muzeum historii zydow. Gentile neighbors on july 10, 1941 avigdor kochav 100 mrs. Bush to the united states holocaust memorial council. On july 10, 1941 the 15th day of tamuz, the jews of yedwabne were ordered to go to the market place with brooms in their hands.
The perpetrators first humiliated the jewish residents, forcing them to pluck grass protruding from the pavement of the main square. Relations were peaceful for the most part until july 10, 1941 when, just days after the germans occupied jedwabne, almost the entire jewish population of the town was murdered. The book, which will be issued in the united states in april. The gestapo and gendarmerie burned alive 1,600 people july 10, 1941. On july 10, 1941, the lewins approached the nearby town of jedwabne, where hundred of jews lived and had the means to shelter other jews. Some jews were butchered and thrown into a hole they had been forced to dig. Marek chodakiewicz, the massacre in jedwabne july 10, 1941. And yet chodakiewicz is able to present his recreation of the crime. There were also many marriages between residents of wizna and jedwabne, and you may have branches in wizna you dont know about. Even though the germans gave the order, it was polish hooligans who took it up and carried it out, using the most horrible methods. On 10 july 1941 in jedwabne, in the lomza region, the germans ordered that the.
On july 10, 1941, the jewish inhabitants in the small polish town of jedwabne were massacred by german policemen and some polish townsmen and peasants. On 10 july 1941 in the village of jedwabne, the ss herded all 1,600 jews to the market square, tortured them for several hours, and then herded them into a barn and burned alive. How villagers in jedwabne, poland, remember, and misremember. After various tortures and humiliations, they burned all the jews in a barn. The burning alive of the entire jewish community of yedwabne itzchok yaacov yanek newmark 111. The crime and the silence, by anna bikont the new york. Mar 05, 2018 o n the morning of july 10, 1941, the jewish inhabitants of jedwabne, a modest town nestled in the marshy podlaskie voivodeship of northeastern poland, found themselves forced from their homes and.
On july 10th, 2001, i sat in the back seat while a polish jewish friend drove us to the. On july 10, 1941, in jedwabne, a town of roughly 3,000 inhabitants in northeastern poland, a mob of catholics murdered most of their jewish. On july 10, 1941, 1,600 jews, nearly the entire jewish population of the polish village. Jul 08, 2012 on july 10, 1941, residents of the polish town of jedwabne rounded up hundreds of their jewish neighbors, corralled them into a barn and burned them to death. I have additional information and records for many jedwabne jewish families. Jedwabne massacre east european nationalism and communism.
United states holocaust memorial museum, viewed april 26, 2018 holocaust encyclopedia, pogroms on july 10, 1941, polish residents of jedwabne, a small town located in bialystok district of first sovietoccupied and then germanoccupied poland, participated in the murder of hundreds of their. The museums collections document the fate of holocaust victims, survivors, rescuers, liberators, and others through artifacts, documents, photos, films, books, personal stories, and more. History and memorial book poland 5317 2218 from sefer jedwabne. The destruction of the jewish community in 2001, 60 years after the jedwabne pogrom occurred. It detailed the massacre of jews in a barn in jedwabne on july 10, 1941 and laid the blame on poles not germans. Some were hunted down and killed with clubs, axes and. Mar 17, 2001 on july 10, 1941, 1,600 jews, nearly the entire jewish population of the polish village of jedwabne, were murdered by their polish neighbors. More than 300 people were burnt alive in the barn, where today there.
Nov 08, 2015 the crime and the silence, by anna bikont. Rivka fogel an eyewitness 101 yedwabne after the war hersh cinovitz, atty. The book challenged the interpretation of the events offered by gross. Such an order was issued by the germans on july 10, 1941.
Polish author reopens minefield of who killed jedwabnes jews. Marek jan chodakiewicz reexamines the events in jedwabne in 1941, exposing many methodological and factual weaknesses in the account by jan tomasz gross in his book neighbors 2000. Summer 1941 after being controlled by russia for two years, jedwabne, a small town in northeastern poland, was captured by germany on june 22, 1941. We have placed together in one document seven articles concerning the memorial ceremony that took place in jedwabne on 10 july 2001. The yedwabner societies in israel and the united states of america, 1980. Before, during, and after by marek jan chodakiewicz was based on a study of available postwar evidence. In 1963 a monument to the victims was placed in jedwabne by the polish communist states. On 10 july 1941 in the village of jedwabne, the ss herded all 1,600 jews to the market square, tortured them for several hours, and then herded them into a.
It suggests that four or five truckloads of armed ss men from lomza terrorized the local population before leading jews and poles to the crime scene. There is a corresponding document in the polish section publikacje under the title sprawozdania i opinie. Jedwabne, poland jta as german army troops invaded eastern poland, ichak lewins family fled their town of wizna. Beginning in the morning, jews were chased, beaten and killed with clubs, knives and iron bars. After the war, a number were tried, convicted and served prison terms for having done so.
In fact, writes chodakiewicz, all the jedwabne primary sources that we know of are insufficient to reconstruct the crime properly and, very likely, we will never comprehend what really happened in jedwabne on july 10, 1941. The hope is that the new monument will be erected in time for the 60th. The jedwabne pogrom was a massacre of polish jews in the town of jedwabne, germanoccupied poland, on 10 july 1941. On july 10, 1941, several dozen inhabitants of jedwabne murdered several hundred jews living in the town and its surroundings. On july 10, 1941 about 90 polish inhabitants murdered presumably 400 of their jewish neighbours in jedwabne in eastern poland by burning them alive in a barn. On july 10, 1941, in jedwabne, a town of roughly 3,000 inhabitants in. The poll was conducted by cbos, the public opinion research center, august 36, 2001, and was published in rzeczpospolita, september 7, 2001. A few weeks later, on 10 july, the jewish inhabitants of the. A quest for the truth of a wartime massacre, by anna bikont.
Mar 24, 2017 how a massacre of a villages jews by their neighbors in wwii poland is remembered and misremembered. Marek jan chodakiewiczs book the massacre in jedwabne, 10 july 1941. A few years later a monument was erected near the barn where jews were. The names of the murdered yedwabne jews must be added to the large list of the thousands of jewish communities that existed before the holocaust, and have been memorialized in books. Dec 18, 2014 the ipns report of the commemoration, on july 10, 20, of the seventysecond anniversary of the pogrom of the jewish inhabitants emphasis added of jedwabne states in relevant part. Gross the massacre of jedwabne jews on july 10, 1941 was coordinated by the towns mayor, marian karolak. The nonjews armed themselves with axes, clubs studded with nails, and other instruments of torture and chased the jews into the street. A memorial to the victims was set up there 60 years after the massacre. One of the first questions the poles asked the nazis, their new rulers, was if it was permitted to kill the jews. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. On july 10, 1941, some members of the polish population of jedwabne participated in the slaughter of most of the towns 900 to 1600 jews. Not surpris ingly, the story of the destruction of the towns jews on july 10, 1941.
In 2000, a small polish publishing house pogranicze, published a book. In the summer of 2000, the polish government assigned the instytut pamieci narodowej the task of investigating the events in jedwabne and issuing an official report on what happened there in july 1941. The crime and the silence, by anna bikont the new york times. Sixty years after the massacre, on july 10, 2001, about three thousand people. Before, during, and after challenges grosss interpretation of events. Search below to view digital records and find material that you can access at our library and at the shapell center. Until recently, a stone memorial in jedwabne blamed the massacre on nazi and. Chodakiewicz provides us with a detailed study of the conditions that led to the heinous slaughter of jedwabnes jewish population.
On july 10, 1941, in jedwabne, a town of roughly 3,000 inhabitants in northeastern poland, a mob of. Jedwabne 10 july reports and opinions polishjewish heritage. From booklist on july 10, 1941, in jedwabne, poland, the towns 1,600 jews were murdered by its 1,600 christians. Information portal to european sites of remembrance.