The Kielce cemetery massacre refers to the shooting action by the Nazi German police that took place on May 23, 1943 in
occupied Poland
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
during World War II, in which 45
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish children who had survived the
Kielce Ghetto
The Kielce Ghetto ( pl, getto w Kielcach, german: Ghetto von Kielce) was a Jewish World War II ghetto created in 1941 by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (''SS'') in the Polish city of Kielce in the south-western region of the Second Polish Republic, occup ...
liquidation, and remained with their working parents at the Kielce forced-labour camps, were rounded up and brought to
the Pakosz cemetery in
Kielce
Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...
, Poland, where they were murdered by the
German paramilitary police. The children ranged in age from 15 months to 15 years old.
During the ghetto liquidation action which began on 20 August 1942 approximately 20,000-21,000 Jews were led to awaiting
Holocaust trains
Holocaust trains were railway transports run by the ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' national railway system under the control of Nazi Germany and its allies, for the purpose of forcible deportation of the Jews, as well as other victims of the Holocaus ...
and sent to
Treblinka extermination camp
Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp ...
.
By the end of 24 August 1942, there were only 2,000 skilled workers left alive in the labour camp at Stolarska-and-Jasna Streets ''
(pl)'' within the small ghetto, including members of the ''Judenrat'' and the Jewish policemen.
In May 1943, most Jewish prisoners from Kielce were transported to forced-labour camps in
Starachowice
Starachowice is a city in southeastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), with 49,513 inhabitants (31.12.2017). Starachowice is situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (since 1999); it was formerly in the Kielce Voivodeship (1975–1998). It ...
,
Skarżysko-Kamienna
Skarżysko-Kamienna is a city in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland by Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major cities. Prior to 1928, it bore the name of ''Kamienna''; i ...
,
Pionki
Pionki is a town in Radom County, Masovian Voivodeship, central Poland with 18 846 inhabitants (2016). Surrounded by the ''Kozienice'' Wilderness, Pionki is located in northern part of historic province of Lesser Poland, from Radom, and from ...
, and
Bliżyn
Bliżyn is a village in Skarżysko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Bliżyn. It lies on the Kamienna river and Bliżyn Reservoir, approximately west ...
. The 45 Jewish children murdered at the cemetery were the ones who stayed behind at the liquidated camp.
References
{{Massacres of Jews
1943 crimes in Poland
Kielce
Holocaust massacres and pogroms in Poland
General Government
May 1943 events
Massacres in 1943