Type of place

Information about the crime

At least two unmarked graves of the Holocaust victims are located in the area of Miechów. One of them is a grave of an unknown number of Jews murdered during the deportation to a death camp in the second half of 1942. People marked for deportation were gathered on the meadows (the so-called Łąki Różyckiego) near the railway station in Miechów where they were awaiting trains. When the time of departure came those who were unable to walk independently to the carriages were killed on the spot. We received information about this grave from Józef W. (a resident of Miechów born in 1926) who was on site a day after the deportation.

Józef: “On Łąki Różyckiego near the railway station – we’ll go there – there was the whole gathering. In the ghetto they organised something like the Red Cross and they were taking tea to those who were expelled. […] We were walking near this hill and there was a fresh grave, quite a big one and the Jews were on the other side, on the meadows. They were ushered towards the carriages and those who were weak were killed and buried here. Somewhere near the pole… there was a wooden pole… Somewhere here… The grave was quite large, almost 6 metres. Maybe 4 or 5. No one paid attention to this [the dimensions]. […] There was the whole gathering of Jews and they were ushered to the carriages in the evening. If someone was disabled or fainted, they killed him.” (Miechów, June 2014.)

IDENTIFICATION OF THE GRAVE BASED ON NON INVASIVE RESEARCH

During the site location carried out in 2014-2016, the approximate location of the mass grave indicated by the witness was established. This place is located by the railway station (GPS: N50°21.297’E020°00.802′). The witness relatively accurately identified the place of the mass grave. Most probably this place has been excavated several times in the past, which excludes the possibility of conducting reliable GPR surveys.

The LIDAR survey indicate not precise changes in the topography of this location.

The aerial photography query for this area wasn’t ordered

Contact and cooperation

We are still looking for information on the identity of the victims and the location of Jewish graves in Miechów. If you know something more, write to us at the following address: fundacjazapomniane@gmail.com.

Bibliography

Recording of the Zapomniane Foundation (audio file), name: Józef [eyewitness], b. 1926, place of residence: Miechów, subject and keywords: Jewish graves in Miechów, interviewed by Agnieszka Nieradko, Miechów

IPN BU 2448/456, s. 1-5, Questionnaires of the Chief Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Poland and the Regional Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Warsaw collected in 1968-1972. Questionnaires regarding krakowskie province- VII. Miechów district: questionnaires.

IPN BU 2448/456, s. 1-9 Questionnaires the Chief Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Poland and the Regional Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Warsaw collected in 1968-1972. Questionnaires regarding krakowskie province- VII. Miechów district: questionnaires.

IPN BU 2448/457, Questionnaires of the Chief Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Poland and the Regional Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Warsaw, collected in 1968-1972. Questionnaires regarding krakowskie province- VII. Miechów district: questionnaires.

Note from 2 July 2013, “Żyd Szlomko”, Katarzyna Odrzywołek and Witold Jagocki from the Pedagogical University in Krakow.

Publication of the Ministry of Justice, Executions in the Krakow province during the occupation of 1939-1945, Warsaw 1975.

Newsletter of the Chief Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Poland, volume IX, Wydawnictwo Prawnicze: Warsaw 1957.

IPN GK 163/9 Questionnaire. Executions. Graves. Krakowskie province; Volume II; Questionnaires about mass executions and mass graves – krakowskie province.

Photocopies of the investigation material ref. no. Ds. 26/68:

• Report of the investigation Ds 26/68 against Władysław Olejak
• Report of the main hearing of 26 May 1948.
• Excerpt from Philip Riedinger’s own testimonies of former German military policeman Olejak.

Photocopies of the investigation material reference number Ds. 1/69 against F. Schmidt, Kreishauptman’s deputy, suspected of carrying out numerous killings in the Miechów district, vol. I, p. 20-29, 73-76.

Letter from the Institute of National Remembrance, the Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation, the Regional Commission for the Examination of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Krakow to the Branch Office of Document Access and Archiving in Warsaw summary of the analysis of the files of investigations with file no. Ds 26/68 and Ds. 1/69.

Materials regarding Jewish war graves in Miechów (transcripts of witness testimonies, video and audio files with eyewitness accounts) were prepared thanks to funding from the association of Jewish Historical Institute as part of the project: “Jewish War Graves. Documentation.”