Pławno is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Gidle __NOTOC__ Gmina Gidle is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Radomsko County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. Its seat is the village of Gidle, which lies approximately south of Radomsko and south of the regional capital Łódź. ...

, within

Radomsko County __NOTOC__ Radomsko County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999 as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its a ...

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...

, in south-central Poland. The village has a population of 1,200. It lies approximately north of

Gidle Gidle is a village in Radomsko County, Łódź Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Gidle. It lies approximately south of Radomsko and south of the regional capital Łódź. In ...

, south of

Radomsko Radomsko () is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship. It is the county seat of Radomsko County. Founded in the 11th century, Radomsko is a former royal city located ...

, and south of the regional capital

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. It is located in the

Sieradz Land Sieradz Land (; Latin: ''Terra Siradiae'') is a historical region in central Poland, a part of Łęczyca-Sieradz Land (). Its traditional capital is Sieradz, while other bigger cities are Piotrków Trybunalski (another historically important ...

History

Pławno was a

private town Private towns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were privately owned towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights and princes, among others. Amongst the most well-known former private magnate towns are Białystok, Zamość, R ...

Polish nobility The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

, administratively located in the Radomsko County in the

Sieradz Voivodeship Sieradz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship. A Voivodeship is an area administered by a voivode (Governor), and the Sieradz Voivodesh ...

in the Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland.

World War II

On 4 September 1939, during the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

which started

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, German troops carried out a massacre of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

inhabitants of the village (see ''

Nazi crimes against the Polish nation War crime, Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with Schutzmannschaft#Police battalions, auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occu ...

''). Afterwards, the village was under

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

until 1945. The fate of the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

of Pławno was sealed in 1942. Mayoral orders of the German occupiers are quoted below. 22 January 1942 It is impossible to create a residential quarter for Jews (Ghetto) within the local district because there are 460 Jews in the district of Pławno, and the Pławno borough itself is too small to lodge that amount in a body. Moreover, the farmers residing here could not be removed from their dwellings and farm buildings. It would only be practicable to resettle the Jews from here to Ghetto in Radomsko. :Mayor of Pławno district. :Signed Karl Rusche

tamp A tamper is a device used to compact or flatten an aggregate or another powdered or granular material, typically to make it resistant to further compression or simply to increase its density. Examples * Small, handheld tampers are used to compre ...

In German: :''Bürgermeister der Gem. Pławno'' :''gez. Karl Rusche (stamp)'' 19 September 1942 "The resettlement of the Jews of Pławno to the Jewish residential quarter of the Pławno borough has to take place on 22 September 1942, until 18:00. The Jews must take all things and machines with them. The police take charge of the dwellings. No Jew must be present in the borough past the 22nd." In German:

References

{{Massacres of Poles Villages in Radomsko County Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland Sites of World War II massacres of Poles Holocaust locations in Poland