Tarłów 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 ...
(a town in 1550–1870) in
Opatów County
__NOTOC__
Opatów County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passe ...
,
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship ( ), also known as Holy Cross Voivodeship, is a voivodeship (province) in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland. The province's capital and largest city is Kielce. The voivodeship takes its ...
, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the
gmina
The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...
(administrative district) called
Gmina Tarłów
__NOTOC__
Gmina Tarłów is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Opatów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Tarłów, which lies approximately north-east of Opatów and east of the r ...
. It lies approximately north-east of
Opatów
Opatów (; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the population was 6,658. Opatów is located ...
and east of the regional capital
Kielce
Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central 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 banks of the Silnic ...
.
It is approximately north of the town of
Ozarow. The village belongs to historic province of
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
.
The history of Tarłów dates back to 1550, when a local nobleman, Andrzej Tarło, founded the town named after himself, which replaced the already existing village of Czekarzewice. Tarłów received its charter in 1550 from King
Zygmunt August
Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and ...
, in
Piotrków Trybunalski
Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by #Etymology, alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the capital of Piotrków County and the second-largest city in the Łódź Voi ...
. The town's inhabitants, thanks to the King's order, were exempt from paying taxes for 20 years. In 1614 Tarłów got its first, wooden church, founded by
Mikołaj Oleśnicki Lord Mikołaj Oleśnicki the elder (d. 1556) was a Polish Calvinist nobleman who established the first Protestant academy in Poland. His wife Zofia Oleśnicka (d. c.1567) was the first notable Polish woman poet.
The ex-priest Francesco Stancaro pre ...
. In 1636 a hospital was opened, and in 1647, the wooden church was replaced with a brick church of Holy Trinity, which still stands.
During the
Deluge
A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood.
The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis.
Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to:
History
*Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...
, Swedish invaders destroyed and ransacked most of Lesser Poland's towns, including Tarłów. After the wars, the town never recovered. In 1851, when Tarłów already belonged to the Russian-controlled
Congress Poland
Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
, it almost completely burned - all that remained were four houses and the church. During the
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...
Tarłów was one of the centers of the rebellion, for which in 1869 the Russians stripped it of the town rights. In 1873, a
pandemic
A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
of
cholera
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
decimated the population, including local artisans, famous for their pots. In 1877 Tarłów got a courthouse of the
gmina
The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...
, and in 1905 - first fire station. In 1927, the government of the
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
opened here an elementary school, in a complex which is still used. In 1915, during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
,
1st Brigade, Polish Legions fought here with Russian troops. During
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 ...
, Tarłów's Jewish population was murdered in the
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. In 1943, the
Home Army
The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
company ''Tarłów'' was created, which in the summer 1944 took part in the
Operation Tempest
file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right
Operation Tempest or Operation Burza (, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home Arm ...
.
Famous rabbis
Jacob Joshua Falk
Jacob Joshua Falk (, also Yaakov Yehoshua ben Tzvi Hirsch, or Yaakov Yehoshua Falk — see Joshua Falk#Note on the name "Joshua Falk", Note on the name "Joshua Falk") 1680 – January 16, 1756) was a Polish People's Republic, Polish and German l ...
(1680-1756) the famous Talmudist and author of the
Pene Yehoshua was Rabbi in Tarłów for a time.
Rabbi Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg (1859-1935) was rabbi in Tarłów from 1885 to 1889 or 1890 (he had married a woman from Tarłów in 1877) and became known in Poland as Rav Yudel Tarlow'er.
A prolific author, Rabbi Rosenberg assumed a number of positions in Poland, before moving to
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, where he became rabbi of Beth Jacob, a Polish Jewish congregation that was established in 1897. There he founded the
Eitz Chaim school (which still exists today), before moving to
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
in 1919, where he served as one of its most prominent rabbis, until 1935, when he died at the age of seventy-five. Scholars believe that many of the stories told today about the
Golem
A golem ( ; ) is an animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...
of Prague (attributed to the Maharal of Prague -
Judah Loew ben Bezalel
Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; 1512 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew language, Hebrew Hebrew abbreviations, acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew'' ...
) were in fact first authored by Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg.
Canadian author
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...
from Montreal (and a grandson of Rabbi Rosenberg) and Canadian religious leader
Eli Rubenstein from Toronto (whose grandfather was born in Tarlow), have roots in the town.
Fate of Tarłów's Jewish population
After
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, about 1,000 Jews lived in Tarłów, roughly half of the small town's population. They worked in crafts and small-time trade - some farmed small plots of land near their homes. Most of its Jewish population was traditional (Orthodox) with a smaller percentage identifying with
Zionism
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
.
In September 1939, the Germans occupied Tarłów. They established a
Judenrat
A ''Judenrat'' (, ) was an administrative body, established in any zone of German-occupied Europe during World War II, purporting to represent its Jewish community in dealings with the Nazi authorities. The Germans required Jews to form ''J ...
, and forced them to collect large sums of money in ransoms, and also gathered Jewish residents for forced labor.
The ghetto in Tarłów was set up in December 1941. In June 1942, seventy young Jews were sent from the ghetto to the
Skarżysko-Kamienna
Skarżysko-Kamienna () is a city in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland by Kamienna (river), Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major cities. Prior to 1928, it bore the name ...
labor camp. A few months later, the Germans brought Jews from nearby towns to the Tarłów ghetto, and the ghetto population swelled to approximately 7,000 people.
On October 29, 1942, the majority of ghetto inhabitants were deported to
Treblinka
Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...
. During the deportation, more than 100 Jews were murdered in Tarłów, the rest were sent to
Treblinka
Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...
where they were all murdered immediately. Afterwards, dozens who were found hiding were executed in a mass grave at the Jewish cemetery in Tarłów.
Today there is not a single Jew left in Tarłów or even within miles of the town. Not far from the centre, the town's former synagogue (built in 1786) lies in ruins, overrun with bushes and trees.
Cemetery Restoration
In the fall of 2011, the Jewish cemetery in Tarłów, which had laid in ruins since the Holocaust, was rededicated in a ceremony attended by Jewish people from around the world with roots in Tarłów, along with the town's residents. The initiative to restore the cemetery had begun a decade earlier, with the efforts of a local Polish citizen, Dr. Jan Curylo, who had organized the cemetery reclamation effort.
The inscription at the newly restored cemetery reads:
"In memory of the righteous Jews of Tarlow, those brutally murdered during the war, whose graves will forever be unknown, and those whose graves were desecrated here - at the hands of the soulless Nazi murderers.
May the descendants of Tarlow's Jews honor their memory through the observance of Torah and Mitzvot and by creating peace in the world.
This cemetery has been restored by North American Jews with roots in Tarlow and the surrounding region."
"Without the Right to Life" (2022) A Documentary
"Without the Right to Life" was written and directed by retired SW Major Waldemar Kowalski. Professor
Grzegorz Berendt, Director of the
Museum of the Second World War
The Museum of the Second World War () is a state cultural institution and museum established in 2008 in Gdańsk, Poland, which is devoted to the Second World War. Its exhibits opened in 2017. The museum is supervised by the Ministry of Culture ...
in Gdansk, with roots in Tarlow, served as the historical consultant for the film.
The Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk (
Muzeum II Wojny Światowej w Gdańsku) produced the documentary with footage prepared by the regional TV station about Tarłów, specifically made to help restore the memories of approximately 7,000 Jews who were gathered and sent from the Tarlow ghetto to Treblinka on October 19, 1942, to be exterminated. The opening of this documentary states that there are well-known places typically mentioned when talking about the Holocaust. However, the tragic events of the Holocaust took place in many lesser-known locations as well. One of them is Tarłów.
The film was produced to mark 80 years since
Operation Reinhard
Operation Reinhard or Operation Reinhardt ( or ; also or ) was the codename of the secret Nazi Germany, German plan in World War II to exterminate History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in the General Government district of German-occupied ...
t. The code name of what was then, a secret German plan in
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 ...
to exterminate
Polish Jews
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
in German-occupied Poland. On that same day, 80 years later (October 19, 2022), the film was premiered in
Gdańsk
Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
at the
Muzeum II Wojny Światowej w Gdańsku. Three days later, the ceremonial screening was organized at the Cultural Center in the village of Tarłów.
The mayor of Tarłów municipality, Mr. Tomasz Kamiński, also expressed his appreciation. He stressed that "thanks to the film, the stories of his grandparents and other elders from the village, which he had heard since his youth, were revived in him." He also thanked the filmmakers for taking part the film's topic and the witnesses who had the courage to step in front of the camera and speak about these events." These witnesses are: Anna Kołsut, Lucyna Medyńska, Zygmunt Sitarski, Józef Janowski, Jan Wieczerzak, Marek Soczewiński, Dr. Wawrzyniec Sadkowski.
The movie depicts the Polish-Jewish community of Tarłów, both before the war and during the establishment of the ghetto. It also portrays the relocation of Jews from other towns to this ghetto. The film uses witness accounts, rare photographs, and archival documents to recount the events. Additionally, historians and researchers offer their expertise on the subject matter.
Elderly villagers of Tarłów depict a community of amicable residents during the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
. Stories of Polish and Jewish children playing together, teenagers falling in love, and Jewish craftsman, merchants, and service providers (tailors, shoemakers, and various forms of services), all working from one house to the next, trading and bartering for food and other items. Another witness account spoke about her mother's generosity with large plates of meals for their children's friends.
In the fall of 1939 in Tarłów, all stores, craft workshops and other businesses or companies had to be officially registered and Germany imposed a ban on social, cultural and political life for Jewish people. Witness testimony commented how a person who, just a few months prior, was a citizen of a large state with rights, was suddenly an outsider left vulnerable to any type of cruel treatment. Property was confiscated and the Jews lost all access to social welfare and medical care.
Archived documents were shown in the film. One in particular was from a report of a Jewish self-help society in Tarłów, to the Jewish community, headquartered in Krakow:
When the ghetto was established by the German authorities, the Jewish inhabitants of Tarlow and the surrounding villages were ordered to move to an already overcrowded part of the village that housed important Jewish institutions like the synagogue and the mikvah. By June 1941, the Jews were not allowed to leave the designated area, and the
Tarlow ghetto became a closed ghetto.
Another elder's resident testimony remembers fishing with friends while witnessing a small group of Germans executing 6 Jewish women in a small field. The culmination of testimony all state that Tarlow was a place of terror and violence, with examples of forced labor, Particularly the phosphate mines. A document is shown in the film, urgently requesting medical supplies (medicine and bandages) for the 100 men working in the mines. The report also stated that medics were called to the mines every day.
The film offers eye witness testimony of the gathering of Jews from nearby settlements, the displacing of thousands of people, and the violent, explicit actions of the German soldiers. As it is stated in the history of Tarlow, over 100 local people were murdered on October 19, 1942 before the displacement and marching of the Jews out of Tarlow. During this displacement, seven marching columns were formed, and at noon they set off in twenty minute intervals to the train station in Jasice, 21 km away.
Witnesses watched fragile older or the injured step aside and refuse to go further and were shot on site. A work unit was formed of young Jewish men to collect the recently shot and were loaded on carts and brought to the Jewish cemetery where a mass grave was formed. The Jewish people were loaded, pushed and thrown onto freight carts leaving no room to breathe, and sent to the Treblinka extermination camp, where the Germans murdered up to 17,000 to 18,000 Jewish people a day.
In Tarłów, the empty main square was filled with cases, bag and people's leftover possessions. The Polish towns people picked up whatever they could that was of use. Following this, the Tarłów ghetto was closed off to the town's inhabitants. The Germans banned entry by securing all doors and windows. The locals were forbidden to seize any Jewish property there, under threat of punishment. The Germans forced local firefighters to empty each house into large piles and organized an auction. In contrast to the earlier looting, the people or Tarłów were ashamed to partake in the auction. People from other areas came to purchase what they could, the rest was burned in the street.
The liquidation of the Tarłów ghetto erased the 400-year history of Tarłów's Jews. Of the 7,000 sent to Treblinka, 1,500 were Jews from Tarłów. Over 5,000 were from nearby settlements or other towns. The murder of these Jews was all part of Operation Reinhardt, which claimed the lives of nearly 2 million Polish Jews.
Order of Virtuti Militari (Commemoration)
A plaque was revealed in Tarlow on May 7, 2022, to honor Lieutenant Colonel Stanislaw Poziomek, who was a commander of the 304th Bomb Squadron during World War II and a recipient of the Knight of the
Order of Virtuti Militari award. Poland's highest military decoration.
The Holy Trinity Church in Tarlow now has a plaque on the surrounding wall thanks to the Society of Friends of Tarlow Land. This plaque commemorates a hero who was significant not only to the Tarlow community but also beyond. The plaque was placed on the wall surrounding the Holy Trinity Church in Tarłów. The initiator of the commemoration was the Society of Friends of Tarłów Land.
Points of interest
* Baroque cross-shaped Holy Trinity church (17th century), with bell towers from 1653
* parish cemetery (late 18th century)
* ruins of a synagogue (1786)
References
{{Authority control
Villages in Opatów County
Holocaust locations in Poland