Type of place

Information about the crime

In May 2021, we came across information about the grave of a Jewish girl in the village of Pawlichy. The approximate location of the burial site was pointed out by villagers whose ancestors remembered the girl’s murder and buried her body.

“I was born in 1958, and I know this story from my grandfather’s stories. A Jewish girl is buried here. My grandfather and his neighbour, both now deceased, buried her. Michał Żur was a commander in Księżpol. He brought this Jewish woman there, abused and killed her. There was a wood shed, and he raped her there. She was 17, 18 years old. My grandfather and Mr. Wojcik buried her.

– Do you know in which place? 

– Where is she buried? Yes, I know the place well”. (Pawlichy, May 2021)

When we talked to people, it appeared that the girl came from the neighboring village of Stare Króle. During a search at the State Archives in Kraśnik, we found a register of residents of the Księżpol borough. It shows that three Jewish families lived in the village of Stare Króle before the war. The only person matching the description of the girl murdered in Pawlichy is one of Icek Teller’s daughters, Sura. The Teller family lived in Stare Króle at No. 1. Icek Teller was born in Krzeszów on November 4, 1881, and died in Stare Króle on January 23, 1938. His wife’s name was Perla née Brojt b. 19 II 1881. Their children were:

Maria b. 1907 in Krzeszów, Rojza b. 1910 in Krzeszów, she left for Warsaw in 1934. She lived at 33-43 Nalewki Street, Chaim, born in 1920 in Króle Stare, Sura, born in 1923 in Króle Stare. All indications are that Sura Teller was a girl killed and murdered in Pawlichy around 1941-1942. At the time of her death, she was 18-19 years old. She was murdered and buried 350 meters from her family home.

Commemoration

The burial site was marked with a wooden matzevah on September 19, 2023, in Księżpol, as part of the “Reference Points. Co-creating Wooden Matzevahs with the Local Community” project.

The marking was the result of workshops held together with youth from the Księżpol School Complex. During the workshop, participants prepared a wooden marker, which they then used to mark burial site of Sura Teller. For more than eighty years the site remained invisible and unmarked in the landscape.

“Reference Points” is an attempt to find a way to mark discovered graves before they can be permanently commemorated. The project involves minor interventions in the landscape of these sites, reminding us of what is invisible within, yet often present in the memories of local communities. As a temporary form of commemoration, wooden matzevot are intended to open up opportunities for local communities to take charge of these sites, to become familiar with them, and perhaps even to initiate their own commemorative practices or achieve permanent commemoration.

The project “Reference Points: Co-creating Wooden Matzevot with the Local Community” was implemented with funding from the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute.

You can read more about the project here: Link

IDENTIFICATION OF THE GRAVE BASED ON NON INVASIVE RESEARCH

On April 14, 2013, a site visit was carried out in a place precisely indicated (GPS: N 50°25.724′ E 022°45.638′) as the grave of a single victim (Sura Teller). This place is located close to the main road running through the village of Pawlichy, the area is wooded and wet.

The indicated area was subjected to research using georadar (GPR). 4 profiles were collected, named: PLY10001 – PLY10004, the echograms marked the location of the grave (red circle) at approx. 4.4 – 5.6 m, presumed depth approx. 0.70 – 1.0 m below ground level. The marked disturbance of soil layers on the downloaded GPR profiles is very subtle, on the profile PLY10004 the disturbance is most clearly registered.

Landform measurement (LiDAR) is not helpful in this case.

No search was conducted for archival aerial photographs for this area.

Contact and cooperation

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

Bibliography

Recording by the Zapomniane Foundation (audio file), resident of Pawlichy village b.1958, interviewed by Marek Kolcon, Pawlichy, May 2, 2021.

Register of residents of Księżpol municipality, Stare Króle VIII sygn.37/24/0/2/22. Kraśnik State Archive

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”.