Type of place

Information about the crime

On May 31, 2021, in Majdan Nowy (Wojsławice borough), we met the owner of the farmland where the grave of a Jewish family, probably from Uchanie, is located. The identities of the victims have not yet been established.

“One village ends. Further there is the next one. It was probably the most convenient place for an execution. The Jews were hiding in the neighboring house. At least that’s what I know from my parents’ stories. A farmer let them stay a night or two and then they went on to the next one. They went through the whole village. There was a manor at the end of the village. They came to this manor. It was big. The Germans took them from there and brought them here, to our field, and shot them here. They ordered my neighbours to dig a grave and bury the victims. They were probably Jews from Uchanie. My father told me about this execution. The Jews got off the cart and the Germans ordered them to line up to be shot. The oldest of the victims was about 17 years old. He started to run away. The German tried to shoot him but couldn’t hit him. Finally, he got down on one knee, took aim, and shot him at the edge of the woods.

– This seventeen-year-old was also buried in the same grave?

– Yes. They were all buried there.

–  Parents and four children?

– Yes.

– And the youngest child? Did your dad say anything about it?

– The youngest was about ten years old. I do not remember exactly. […]

When the Germans left, my neighbours piled a mound in this place. My father pastured a cow here. One day the Germans came and saw the grave. They told us to raze it to the ground so that there would be no trace”. (Nowy Majdan, May 31, 2021)

IDENTIFICATION OF THE GRAVE BASED ON NON INVASIVE RESEARCH

On May 31, 2021, a site inspection was carried out in the presence of a witness (2nd generation), who marked the area where the mass grave of 6 victims is located (approximate GPS coordinates: N 50°52.850′ E 023°36.386′).

There is an agricultural field in this place to this day. All traces of soil disturbances have been obliterated due to farm work. The indicated area is too large to determine the precise location of the grave.

The LiDAR survey is not helpful in this case.

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 Nowy Majdan. If you know something more, write to us at the following address: fundacjazapomniane@gmail.com.

Bibliography

Recording of the Zapomniane Foundation (audio file), name: the owner of the field in Nowy Majdan where the grave is located, subject and keywords: grave of a Jewish family from Uchanie, interviewed by Agnieszka Nieradko, Nowy Majdan, May 31, 2021.

We have collected the materials about this village thanks to the funding provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance as part of the project “The rural Holocaust. Collecting and safeguarding the never recorded testimonies 100 forgotten Jewish graves 2021-2022”. The materials for this website were developed, digitized and made available as part of the project “Development of a digital archive of Jewish war graves outside the extermination camps and educational use of archive resources” thanks to funding from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Cultural Promotion Fund.