Type of place

Information about the crime

On 4 August 1944, the Gestapo murdered a family of three in the village of Powroźnik: Jakub Hilman, his wife Eugenia, and their daughter Anna. Before the war, Jakub Hilman was the manager of the narrow-gauge railway in Mikuliczyn, and during the occupation, he worked as a representative of the timber company ‘Osmolit’. The Chief Commission’s survey indicates that the Hilmans were killed because of their alleged Jewish origin. (IPN Bu 2448/470).

On 28 September 1945, an inspection was conducted at the site where the Hilman family had been murdered and buried. The post-inspection protocol reads: “In the village of Powroźnik, along the Powroźnik–Krynica Wieś road, just beyond the bridge over the Muszynka River, when heading toward Krynica Wieś, at a distance of 5–6 meters from the road and 2–3 meters above road level, stands a single-story brick house belonging to Semen Szczawiński, at number 105. This house was the site of the mass execution of the Hilman family. […] The Hilman family, consisting of three members – Jakub Hilman, born 19 March 1903; Eugenia Hilman, born 17 May 1906; and their daughter Anna Hilman, aged 9 – lived in the house of Semen Szczawiński. They occupied the apartment facing the road, consisting of a room and a kitchen. […] A few months before the execution, Jakub and Eugenia Hilman were arrested by the Gestapo on suspicion of being of Jewish origin. After spending some time in prison, they were released. […] On 4 December 1944, at approximately 8 a.m., several Gestapo officers from Krynica and possibly from Nowy Sącz arrived at the Szczawiński’s house. Three of these officers entered the Hilman family’s apartment and murdered all members of the family there, shooting them with an automatic weapon. After the murder, the Gestapo completely ransacked the Hilman family’s apartment. They issued orders that the bodies of the Hilmans be buried immediately, adding that they should be buried where carrion is buried. The local population buried the bodies of the Hilman family in a common grave on a part of the Roman Catholic cemetery that had not yet been consecrated, which is directly connected to the consecrated part of the cemetery. The mass grave of the Hilman family is located approximately 800 metres from the place of execution, i.e. from the Hilman family’s apartment. The grave itself is located 1.5 meters west of the mortuary, is two metres long and 1.5 metres wide, and is covered by an uneven mound with grass growing on top. According to Lubomira Szczawińska’s testimony, the victims were allegedly accused of being of Jewish descent. The Hilmans were officially registered in the borough as Poles.” (IPN Kr 1/11620)

According to information gathered by the Foundation, the location of the Hilman family grave was reused 40 years later for another burial. Ironically, the people buried there in 1984 were the parents and their nine-year-old daughter, who died tragically in a traffic accident.

Contact and cooperation

We are still looking for information on the identity of the victims and the location of Jewish graves in Powroźnik. If you know something more, write to us at the following address: kontakt@zapomniane.org.

Bibliography

IPN BU 2448/470, the Chief Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Poland, Nowy Sącz district, executions.

IPN Kr 1/11620 Survey of Municipal Courts, Nowy Sącz and Limanowa districts, 1945

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