Type of place

Information about the crime

The Register of Killing Sites and Crimes committed by the Germans in the former kieleckie province and selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the collection of The Chief Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Poland (IPN Bu 2448/354), in 1939-1944 record the following events:

On September 10, 1939, 10 Jews were shot in the market square in Ostrowiec. The names of 8 victims were established:

• Stejn with his wife, residing at ul. Zatylna 17,
• Wiślicki with his wife, residing in Młyńsk
• Modechaj (Mordka) Glattow, Nathan (Nusyn) Glattow, Rebeka (Rywka) Glattow, residing at ul. Nowa 4
• Gutermanowa, residing at Rynek 34

The bodies were buried in individual graves in the Jewish cemetery.

In the first days of May 1942, the Germans shot 36 Jews whose names have not been established.

In February 1942, in the large ghetto in Ostrowiec, the Baumsztejn brothers were shot because they didn’t give their furs to the German army.

On the night of April 28, 1942, about 40 men, dragged out of their homes, were shot:

• Dr. Wacholder
• Zeisl, an attorney
• Eliasz Bajnerman
• Szyja Mincberg / Mincerberg
• Szowela Metmacher / Szoela Matmachera
• Szlama Kancenlenbogien / Kacznelenbogen
• Szerman
• Baila Cukierfrajn
• Icek Kudłowicz
• Józef Maliniak
• Hersz Dawid Pancer
• Alter Grynberg
• Szymon Fiszman
• Chaim Sztama
• Jonas Zylberman
• Gryneweja / Gdycwajg
• Froim Blum
• Pancer
• Majerczyk / Majcherczak, father and son or brothers
• Dawid Mendelbaum
• Izrael Rozenberg
• Wojdorowicz / Wigdorowicz
• Abraham Waldman / Waldeman

The bodies were buried in the Jewish cemetery.

On October 10, 1942, during the liquidation of the so-called “large” ghetto in Ostrowiec, 2,000 Jews were shot.

On October 16, 1942, during the first displacement of Jews, about 2,000 people were shot on the route from school to the post office in Ostrowiec. Among the victims were:

• Pancer, 35 years old, residing at ul. Cegielna, a farmer
• Moszek Szerman, 40 years old, residing at ul. Iłżecka 16, a tailor
• Szlojma, 35 years old, a water carter
• Sana Sussapel, residing at ul. Sienna 16
• Rozenberg Izrael, residing at Rynek
• Szyja Miskier, b. 1905, residing at ul. Kościelna 30, a clerk
• The bodies of the victims were partially burnt, and the remains were buried in the Jewish cemetery.
• On October 20, 1942, three Jews accused of robbery were shot in the labor camp. The names of 2 victims were established:
• Moszek Gotman
• Abram Grynberg
• On October 20, 1942, 18 Jews from Ostrowiec were murdered in the labor camp in Bodzechów:
• Gerson Wincygster, residing at ul. Stodolna 10
• Chil Elwing, residing at ul. Okolna 13
• Denkowsk, residing at ul. Stodolna 10
• Reutman, residing at ul. Stodolna 10

The bodies were buried in the Jewish cemetery

In December 1942, in the so-called “small” ghetto, 5 people were shot in the “Jadwiga” brickyard. The names of 4 victims were established:

• Szmul Miedziogrodzki
• Baila Rubinsztejn
• Rusa
• Josek Ryba

4,000 Jews from Poland and Austria lived in the so-called “small” ghetto. During the liquidation, some people were shot and some were taken away.

On January 10, 1943, during the second deportation, 300 Jews from Ostrowiec were murdered. Among the victims were:

• Dawid Hofman, 60 years old, and his wife, residing at ul. Siennińska,
• Bumfeld, 52 years old, Bumfeld, 48 years old, Bumfeld, 6 years old
• Jachweta Kopelman, 15 years old
• Małach Szoel

The bodies were partially burnt and buried in the Jewish cemetery.

In July 1944, the bodies of 4 murdered Jews, inhabitants of Ostrowiec, were burnt in an open hearth furnace in the factory in Ostrowiec. The names of two victims were established:

• Pinkwas Cukierman, 32 years old, residing at Rynek 50
• Chil Mincberg, 34 years old, residing at Rynek 50
• During the liquidation of the camp, 14 Jews from Ostrowiec were murdered on the square in the factory in Ostrowiec. Among the victims were:
• Ajzyk Zajfman, 18 years old, a student, residing in Ostrowiec, ul. Siennińska 7
• Zygielbaum, 40 years old, and his daughter, residing in Ostrowiec, ul. Sienkiewicza
• Gutholo, 28 years old, from Bodzechów
• Nuska Liberman, 35 years old, residing in Ostrowiec, a merchant
• Jankiel Cukier 20 years old, residing in Ostrowiec

The bodies were buried on the square next to the factory in Ostrowiec, after exhumation at the Jewish cemetery.

In 2014, in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, we met with Janusz Kotesiak, who died in 2020. He was the director of the Regional Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski and the chairman of the City Council for many years. As a child Kotesiak was an eyewitness to the killing and burying of Jews in the Jewish cemetery in Ostrowiec:

“I am a witness and that is why I can say where this mass grave was. I remember it because I lived opposite the cemetery. The Germans surrounded this area with tarpaulin fences. They put the lime solution there, probably with the help of aggregates, to cover the traces. There’s a lapidarium and these 153 matzevas stand there. They are broken but folded into piles. Somewhere in this area, a long, deep grave was dug and they buried them there in layers.

– Is it certain that he [the grave] is in the lapidarium, or can it also be outside?

– I don’t rule it out. I have a hard time remembering. I was just a child then. If you were to do geophysical research, you should do it outside and inside. As far as I can remember, the grave was inside. The fence that was built here is symbolic. It doesn’t refer to the grave, because nobody knew about it. It was a long ditch, several dozen meters long. I only remember one scene. Some of these bodies were covered with dirt, but not exactly because a fragment of the hand was sticking out of it. Perhaps it is irrelevant, but I remembered it because a green frog was jumping on the ground there. The pit was about fifty meters long. […] They were collectively buried in this exact place. It is difficult to say whether there are any traces of this German operation. I would have to do some research. I don’t know if geophysics will be able to show anything.” (Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, 2014)

IDENTIFICATION OF THE GRAVE BASED ON NON INVASIVE RESEARCH

On 9 September, 2014, a site inspection was carried out in the Jewish cemetery in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. During the inspection,in the presence of a witness, the location of the mass grave in the lapidarium was indicated (GPS: N 50 ° 56.542 ‘E021 ° 23.135’). The indicated area was investigated with the use of GPR. The collected GPR data was processed and interpreted. On GPR profiles named OSW10001-OSW10006, OSW20001-OSW20005, numerous soil disturbances were recorded, up to approx. 1.0 m below the sea level, as well as deeper point anomalies reaching approx. 1.5 m below sea level. The surveyed area has been repeatedly violated in the past, which makes it difficult to interpret the approximate size of the anomaly, which may potentially indicate the existence of a mass grave. Deeper anomalies may be associated with traditional burials in the cemetery.

The second approximate location of the mass grave in the Jewish cemetery (GPS: N 50 ° 56.502 ‘E 021 ° 23.118’) is known thanks to the preserved post-war archival photograph in which a group of people gathered standing at the mass grave. The photo shows the buildings as well as the church tower. These objects depicted in this perspective are extremely helpful in determining the exact location of the burial place of the victims. 

As a result of an aerial photography query for this area, photos with the reference number GX8066 taken on 02/03/1945 were obtained. One of the photographs shows the area of ​​the Jewish cemetery in winter. In the case of photographs with snow, the interpretation is limited due to the impossibility of noticing changes on the ground surface, nevertheless, the visible snow melts in the indicated place may be related to soil disturbances.

The relief survey (LiDAR) shows numerous disturbances in the indicated area.

Below is a link to the results of aerial photography and ground photography conducted in 2023 by Dr. Sebastian Różycki, Aleksander Schwarz and Wojtek Mazan.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f3d80511639e4102bb5e3818912ffd30

The results of geophysical research using a georadar, magnetometer and conductometer are available at the link.

Report Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski

Contact and cooperation

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

Bibliography

IPN Ki 53/4856 vol. 1 (Ds. 40/67 vol. 1), selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the files of the investigation of Ds. 40/67 of the Regional Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Kielce regarding the crimes committed by the Germans in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski in 1939-1945

IPN Ki 53/4856 vol. 2 (Ds. 40/67 vol. 2) selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the files of the investigation of Ds. 40/67 of the Regional Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Kielce regarding the crimes committed by the Germans in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski in 1939-1945

IPN Ki 53/4856 vol. 3 (Ds. 40/67 vol. 3) selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the files of the investigation of Ds. 40/67 of the Regional Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Kielce regarding the crimes committed by the Germans in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski in 1939-1945

IPN Ki 53/4856 vol. 7 (Ds. 40/67 vol. 7) selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the files of the investigation of Ds. 40/67 of the Regional Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Kielce regarding the crimes committed by the Germans in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski in 1939-1945

IPN Gk 164/5088, selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the files concerning a person named Zwierzyn vel Zwierczyna

IPN Bu 2448/354, selected documents on the Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the survey collection of the Chief Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Poland

IPN Bu 2448/353, selected documents on Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the survey collection of the Chief Commission for the Examination of German Crimes in Poland

IPN Ra 108/110, selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the files in the criminal case of Stanisław Wiktorowicz

IPN Lu 315/232, selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the files in the criminal case of Johann Holzer

IPN Gk 195/V/12, selected documents on Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the collection of scout alerts regarding the Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski district

Selected documents concerning Jewish war graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski from the files of the investigation with reference number S 19/09/Zn, vol.1 and vol.2

Szymon Datner, “55 dni Wehrmachtu w Polsce”, Warszawa 1967, p. 329

The Register of Killing Sites and Crimes committed by the Germans in Poland between 1939 and 1945, kieleckie province, Warsaw 1980 

Recording of the Zapomniane Foundation (audio file), name: Janusz Kotesiak, b. 1938, subject and keywords: Jewish graves in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, interviewed by Agnieszka Nieradko and Aleksander Schwarz, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, 2014

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” and also thanks to the support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Warsaw.