Type of place

Information about the crime

In the spring of 1940 in Popławy, on the suburbs of Pułtusk, approx. 100 people were murdered (between 90 and 120 people) – Poles and Jews. Their bodies were buried at the place of execution, 300 metres from the road from Pułtusk to Psary, near the swamp. A grave measuring 5-9 metres long was dug in a large gorge. The victims came from Jabłonna and Legionowo. Among them there were also people captured on the customs border which existed in the southern part of the Pułtusk District. (IPN GK 163/44)

The murder of a group of Jews committed in 1940 in Popławy was also recalled by the scouts report (Alert Harcerski). The note was accompanied by a drawing made by the scouts which includes an approximate location of the common grave.

Since the autumn of 1939 the Popławy estate served as the site of mass murders of the local population. The same scouts report mentioned a murder of 150 Jews who were ushered to the place of torment from the direction of Wyszków. The victims were placed in groups on a hill and shot to death. Their common grave is meant to be located on the hill, 100 metres away from the left bank of the Narew river, on the other side of Pułtusk. Its approximate location can also be seen on the drawing. (IPN GK 195/XV/210)

The Register of crimes and killing sites also noted that between 29 September 1939 and the end of 1939 on the Popławy estate the German military police shot to death approx. 200 Jewish men, women and children. Their bodies were buried at the place of execution.

Commemoration

The place of the grave was marked with a wooden matzevah in 2020 as part of the project  “Reference points  – marking 24 Jewish war graves with wooden matzevot ” . The project is an attempt to find a way to mark these places before they can be commemorated. The action was aimed as an intervention in the landscape of these places, which would remind about what remains invisible, even if present in the memory of local communities.Being only a temporary commemoration, wooden matzevot invite local communities to discuss and take action, to discover the places, and perhaps to start their own memory practice related to them or to permanently commemorate them.

You can read more about the project here (English below):

https://zapomniane.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/MACEWY_punkty-odniesienia_folder.pdf

The project was implemented thanks to funding from the Stowarzyszenie Żydowski Instytut Historyczny and The Matzevah Foundation.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE GRAVE BASED ON NON INVASIVE RESEARCH

May 20, 2019, January 16, 2020, April 14, 2021, further local visits were carried out to determine the location of mass graves of Holocaust victims. This place was indicated as an area where numerous executions of approximately 500 people were carried out (GPS: N 52°41.830′ E 021°05.925′.) The area is located on the Narew River, in a flood area with access from the right course of the river and access from the road running from the southern side of the indicated location. The location is characterized by a sandy hill (so-called Szlamia Górka), which contains numerous ground disturbances.

The terrain model (LiDAR) recorded violations in this area. Changes on the ground surface may have occurred due to the use of local sand for construction purposes, and it cannot be ruled out that the violations may be remnants of the search for valuable items belonging to the victims.

Aerial photography from 1944 obtained through a query of archival aerial photos indicates ground disturbances in this area: light spots that are fresh damage and darker spots that may be older damage that has become overgrown.

Contact and cooperation

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

Bibliography

IPN GK 163/44, Questionnaire. Executions. Graves. Warszawskie province, volume IV, Questionnaires about mass executions and mass graves – warszawskie province.

IPN GK 195/XV/21, Scout alert.

The register of sites and crimes committed by the Germans in Poland between 1939 and 1945, Warsaw 1984, p. 73.