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Rzeszów was a town in southern Poland (now southeastern Poland. At the time of World War II, some 14,000 Jews lived there, about a third of the population. The Germans invaded Poland (September 1, 1939)) and reached Rzeszów on September 10. The Soviet Red Union, at the time a NAZI ally invaded Poland (September 17). Rzeszow was near the demarkation line separating German and Soviet occupied Poland. The Germans Germanized the town's name as Reichshof. German actions against the Jews began within days with executions of men driven from the town's synagoge. The Germans set up 10 forced labor camps in the region and many youth and men from Rzeszów and surounding region became slave laborers. This reduced the number of Jews, but Jews from the towns and villages in the countrysude were forcibly concentrated in Rzeszow some 4.000 people. The Jewish population was about 12,000 people (June 1940). The Germans through confisctons and other controls began establishing an informal ghetto during 1940, although this was not formalized for some time (December 1941). As the ghetto was already largely formed, they closed it only a few days later. Many Rzeszów Jews managed to reach the Soviet-occupied Poland, although crossing over was dangerous. Life in Rzeszow as in other the ghettos became unbearable, most importantly because of the starvation-level food supplies the Germans allowed into the ghetto. In all some 20,000 Jews from Rzeszow and the surrounding area were murdered. Many Rzeszów Jews died of starvation and illness even before the deportations to the deat cmps began. Some 2,800 Jews who managed to survive the slave labor camps were was transported to the newly reopened Szebnie concentration camp (fall 1943). Soon after arrival they were transported to Auschwitz (November 5). Only 100 Rzeszów Jews are known to have survived in the town. fter the war an additional 600 Rzeszów Jews managedto survive in the Soviet Union.
Rzeszów was a town in southern Poland (now southeastern Poland. It is located along the Wisłok River, in the Sandomierska Valley. The nearest large city was Krakow, 150 km to the west. Jews began to settle in the town at the end of the medievel period as the last Jews in Western Europe were expelled (15th century). The Jewsish population gradually increased. At the time of World War II, some 14,000-15,000 Jews lived in the town, about a third of the population. The towns Jews referred to it affectionately as 'Reishe'. Because of ts location, Rzeszów would become an important German military center.
The Germans invaded Poland (September 1, 1939). German bombing began (September 6). We re unsure what they were targetting. A substantial number of people tried to flee to tge east as the Soviet Union had not yet invaded. Estimates of these refugees rabge from avout 1,000-7,000 people, pronably mostly Jews. The number probably included refugees from neighbouring villages). Many were encountered advancing German units and were turned back. It is not known just how many eluded the Germans. The Germans reached Rzeszów soon after the first boms fell (September 10). Reports suggest that the
first German troops entering Rzeszów were relaxed and friendly, even handing out cigarettes and candy to the children. This did not last long. We are not sure why. Perhaps combat soldiers moved on. Perhaps the local commander receivd orders. The first recorded attrocity occured 5 days after the Germans arrived (September 15). It was the Jewish high holidays of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). German soldiers entred the synagogues during services and at gun point drove Jewish men still wearing their prayer shawls towards the River Wislok which cut thgrough the town, where many were either forced into the river and drowned or clubbed to death. The Germans Germanized the town's name to Reichshof.
World War II was made possible by the NAZI-Soviet Non-Agression Pact (August 1939). In it and associated cdicles, the two dictarorship divided up Europe among themselves. Hitler and Stalin thus became allies. The Soviet Union, acting as a NAZI ally, invaded Poland from the east, ending any hope of Polish resistance (September 17). Rzeszow was near the demarkation line negotiated by thecGermabs and Soviets to separateing the two occupation zone.
Many Rzeszów Jews managed to reach the Soviet-occupied Poland, although crossing over was dangerous. Those headed toward the border were stopped by the Germans. Jew might be shot because of curfew and movement restrictions. Soviet patrols might also shoot people crossing the border. There were instance of Soviet parols shooting Jewish refuges are forcing them into border rivers. We are unsure how refugees that evaded border patrols were handeled. Here age could maje a dufference as we know unaccompnied children, mostly teenagers, were often put in orphanages.
Rzeszów was in the area of centra; Poland the Germans designated as the Generalgouvernement (General Government). Western Poland was annexed to the Reich and eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Most of the regulations governing Jews were issued by the Governor General Hans Frank. Frank ordered all Jewish males (14-60 years of age) to register for work (October 26, 1939). They were then summoned for forced labor. Frank then announced that Jews had to wear wear
on their right arm a white band at least 10 cm wide, bearing a Star of David. This went into effect (DEvemberv1). Frank also ordered that all Jewish shops had to be marked with the stat of David. Onerous regulations were also issued for Plese, but not nearly as severe as for Jews. Poles were issued rations on wgich one could survive on if supplemnted by the black market or family in the country. The rations issued go Jews meant starvation.
Many regulations designed to prsecute Polish Jews came from General Governor Frank. Many other axtions were carried out at the local level. Rzeszów had some small synagogues. The Germans destroyed these (early September). The Germans forced Jews to clean the streets. The German then demolished the Jewish cemetery located near the city center and dating back centuries. The Germans forced Jews to pull down the cemetery walls, break up all tombstones, and then usethe rubble to pave roads. The area cleared became the Sammelplatz where deportees were assembled. The Germans appointed a Judenrat. This was a kind of council responsible for compliling a census listing all Jews in the town and informing the town's Jews of regulations isued by the Germans and seeing that they the popiulation complied with them. They also oversaw the distribution issunce of the rations provided by the Germans. The Germans selected Dr. Kleinmannto head the Judenrat. The Germans organized the Ordnungdienst, the unarmed Jewish police. It was headed by a man named Gorelik. a former Polish officer from Lodz. It initially numberd 25 men. The Germans executed Kleinmann and other members of the Judenrat in the marketplace for failing to provide the desired number of forced laborers (January 1940). [Ringelblum archive] This was a typical German tactic to terrify the city Jews and ensure that the Judenrat diligently carried out their instructions. They selected Benno (Bernard) Kahana, Kleinmann’s deputy, to head a new Judenrat. The Germans began confiscating Jewish homes and apartments as well as most of the contents (May 1940). Those driven from their homes had to move in with friends or family. Here the Judenrat oranized hosing for the disossed. The Germans prohbiyted Jews from walking on the main thoroughfares, Trzeciego Maja and Zamkowa Streets. Next a curfew was ordered requiring that Jews be off the streets at night.
The Germans after occupying Poland began driving Jews and Poles out of the western provinces they occpied. Virtually all of the Jews were forced out, but the porocess pf deporting Poles wasonly begun (December 1939 and January 1940). ,
Some 6,000–7,000 Jews from the Warthegau and Upper Silesia were deported to Rzeszow, including 1,800 Jews from Lodz and 1,224 from Kalisz. There were also 630 émigrés from Germany who had arrived before the War. Several thousand Jews moved in the opposite direction. This included both Rzeszów residents and recently arrived refugees. Some headed for Warsaw, apparently they would be safer there because of the city's large Jewish population. Some headed for Soviet-occupied Poland. And some attempted to reach other places in the General Government for various reasons. Very few managed to cross the border legally. There was provision for an exchange of refugees between Germany and the Soviet Union, but it ws set to expire (May 15, 1940). The RSHA prohibited all Jewish emigration from the General Governement.
(October 25, 1940). The primary purpose was presumably to ensure that no Jews entered the Reich.
The SS appointed a new Kreishauptmann (District Leader), SS-Sturmbannführer Dr Heinz Ehaus (early-January 1940). .He had developed a reputation for persecuting both Jews and Poles in Nisko, a small neaby town. whee he was appointed Landkommissar (September 30, 1939). His supperiors, pleased with his work assigned him to work in a larger town. .
The Kommissar of the town was Dr Hueller and the Gestapo chief was Hans Mack. The local Judenreferat (Jewish section) of the Gestapo-RSHA was Adolf Schuster. The Judenreferat was also known as the Eichmannreferat (Eichmann Unit) because it was headed by Adolf Eichmann which was the SS unit that would coordinate the Holocaust. Schuster's deputies were Clemenz Burmester and Kurt Dannenberg. This unit would appoint the various commandants of the Rzeszów Ghetto: SS- Hauptscharführer Bacher, SS-Oberscharführer Kurt Schupke, (who had earlier served at KZ Buchenwald and who was later appointed commandant of KZ Plaszow--September 1944), and SS-Unterscharführer Georg Oester.
The Germans quickly set up 10 forced labor camps in the region and many youth and men from Rzeszów and surounding region became slave laborers. The Germans used the former Polish military airport to the north of the townn as the main workplace for Jewish slave laborers. The Germans ordered the Judenrat to make sure that all Jewish male youth and men had report at the Arbeitsamt daily, The Germans transported several hundred Jews from Rzeszow to forced labor camps which were set up in Pustkow (near Debica), Jaroslaw and Lipie (near Nowy Sacz). The Germans opened an iportant factory complex to build aircraft engines--Flugmotorenwerk. A survivor tells us about forced labor, "The next morning gain we lined up for jobs at the labor deprtment. The truck from our previous job did not arrive so we were taken to a communications unit to dig holes for telephone poles. The frozen, nud-covered ground made the work strenous and exposed us to the coldwind and freezing rain and our shoes were soon caked with heavy clay. We were given no food or rest periods and wirked continuously until it was dark, when they took us back to thevJudenrat where we got some hot soup from the community kitchen. Fathervheard tht that the Jewish labor department was under pressure o supply largevnumbers of Jews to wirk for the army and SS. The ooficials worked through the night tonprepare lists, but the demand for slave labor grew as tremendous numbers of soldiers and their equipment were expected to make camp in the region. Fortunately for us, our old army aergeant came to pick up workers next day and we asked him to take us and if possiblr, give us steady worker sttus. He agreed and arranged it with a labor department official. Fela [the author's sister told us that in her depot they were also kept busy handling a huge turnover of uniforms." [Herzog, pp. 65-66.] Unknown to the author, Rzeszów because of its easterly location was important as a sraging area for Barbarossam, the invasion of tge Soviet Union. Jewish labor was thus valuable in the preparatiins. Even so soon after the invasion the Germsns began killing the Polish Jews. Destroying thecJews took prioprity over destroying the Soviet Union.
The Germans through confisctons and other controls began establishing an informal ghetto during 1940. It is not clear why the germans dd not set up a formal ghetto ealier. It may relate to the reltively small number of Jews or the fact that the until June 1941, the Soviet border was so close. Preparations accelerated in 1941. The Germans began concentrating Jews (March 1941). These were commonly temprary ghetto, orgabized just to concentratevthe Jews until they could be moved to lrger ghettoes. The Germans ordered Jews from villages were ordered to move to ghettos in the nearest towns. They wee only allowed to bring wht they could carry. The process around Tyczyn was especially tragic. Jews moving into the ghetto there were brutalized, badly beaten and roibbed ofvtheir meager possessions. Some were killed. This was apparently done by Poles and not the Germans. As a result, Tyczyn Jews were resettled in Rzeszów (June 25-27).
The Jews had to walk to Rzeszów. They were again attacked and more were killed. The German guards made no effort to protect them. Some were executed at the town's Jewish cemetery. Jews around Kolbuszowa were forced into a ghetto there (autumn 1941) This ghetto was closed (February 1942). The Germans formed a ghetto at Sokolow Malopolski (April 1942). The ghetto with 3,000 Jews was liquidation (June 1942). They were resettled in ment to Rzeszow. The Germans killed 28 Jews in the prov=cess. The Germans moved most of the Jews from the Glogow Malopolski to Rzeszów (early-July 1942). The Germans executed some at the Glogow forest (Rudna Forest) in the march from Glogow to Rzeszow. We are not sure why. The Germns after concentrating Jews in the Strzyzow Ghetto, moved them to Rzeszów (April 26 and June 9).
Jews from Blazowa were moved to Rzeszów (June 26). The Germans moved to transfer all the Jews from the smaller towns around Rzeszów (Majdan Kolbuszowski, Czudec, Niebylec, and Staniszewska, together with some from Lancut, Sedziszow Malopolski, and from small villages near Rzeszow). All were firced into were forced into the Rzeszów. As a result, the Jewish population of town increased to nearly 23,000 people.
After concentrating the Jews in the region at Rzeszów, responsibility was transfered from the local German General Government autorities to the Security Police/SD. Shortly thereafter, the SD began to extort as mich money as possible from the captive Jews. After the surronding Jews were concentrated in Rzeszów, it facilitated their used in forced labor and the process of stealing valuable possessions. The SD demanded that the Jews pay a 1 million zloty 'contribution'. (July 1942). A survivor writes, "Afterwards the compulsory labour regulations were tightened up. Most Jews were forced to work. Around the same time came the "contributions". First 2, then another 3, then a further 7 million zlotys, and finally the delivery of all money. The Jews had to pay all tax arrears. Aryans who held claims against Jews were entitled to get paid without delay. Eventually the order came that all Jews from the surrounding area had to move into the town of Rzeszow. Many fled into the forests, but some 11,000 obeyed, so that the ghetto suddenly had some 24,000 inhabitants.” [Wilf] And as the Jews arrived from the countryside, the Grmans began surrounding the area with a 3 meter (m) high wooden fences and walls. Entrances and gates were at first left open. The SS appointed Albert Pavlu, the new Stadtkommissar. He proved to be a die-hard NAZI and personally murdered Jews even before deportations began. The Germans finally formally established the ghetto (December 17, 1941).
German officials formally established a ghetto at Rzeszów (December 17, 1941). As the ghetto was already largely formed, they closed it only a few days later. Life in Rzeszow as in other the ghettos became unbearable, most importantly because of the starvation-level food supplies the Germans allowed into the Ghetto.
One survivor repoirts, "The ghetto was not established until 10 January 1942 [meaning closed]. Posters appeared, stating that within 3 to 5 days all Jews had to move into the houses reserved for the ghetto. At that time only the Jews from Rzeszow lived in the ghetto, plus about 2,000 refugees from Lodz etc. The Jews from the surrounding area were left in peace for the time being. Originally the ghetto was big, containing about 20 percent of the town. Nevertheless, some houses were really crowded, with up to 20 persons in one room. Within the wooden fence around the ghetto 3 gateways were set, guarded by Jewish and Polish police. Only those with a job outside the ghetto were entitled to leave. However ... could bring in some food, so that at first we did not starve." [Wilf]
With the Red Army offensive before Moscow, the German authorities ordered Jews to turn in all fur coats and collars (December 1941).
The ghetto was closed (January 10, 1942). This meant that about 12,200 Jews were now imprioned and compleyely controlled by the German officils. More than 3,000 of them were refugees and people deported by the Germans from western Poland. Overcrowding, starvation ratiins, and almost lack of hygienic facilities resulted in difficult to control epidemics. Hundreds perishd even before extermination actions began.
In all some 20,000 Jews from Rzeszów and the surrounding area were murdered. This was one small part of the infanmous Operation Reinhard--the largest killing operation of the Holocaust. The German death camps were coming on line as the Jews were being concentrated in Rzeszów. Belzac where many of the Rzeszów Jews were murdered opened in July 1942. Many Rzeszów Jews died of starvation and illness even before shootings and the deportations to the death camps began. Shootings befan shortly after the Ghetto was closed. The Security Police shot the residents of two houses in the ghetto (March 1942). The Security Police murdered another 35 people. They were driven out of their homes and shot. The Security Police took 250 Jews from the Rzeszówprison to the Nowa Wies forest and shot them (May 12). Soon the deportations began, meaning transport to the death camps. This process began in the morning (July 7). A large detachment of heavily armed Security Police entered the Ghetto unannouncedand forced the residents of the southern part of the Ghetto to assemble in the Sammelplatz which had been the Jewish cemetery before the German invasion. Here the Germans subjected the assembled Jews to a selection. Those found suitable for work, meaning a temporary reprive, were given a special seal on their work cards. Some 2,000 mostly elderly and sick were marched to the adjacent Glogow forest and sumarily shot. It is not clear why the elderly and sick were shot and not transported to the death camps. Perhaps this was done because adequte transports were not available. A group of healty Jews with the work seals was sent to work at the the Flugmotorenwerk at Lisia Gora. Some 4,000 Jews including many women and children were directed to Staroniwa trainstation and packed 100–120 people in each of the waiting cattle cars and transported to the horific Belzec death camp. They were among the first Belzac victims. They were gassed on arrival. The forced march to the station involved extreme brutlity. The security police herded the terified Jews, prodding and beating them with rile butts. It is not clearly why the police were so unecesarily brutal, perhaps they were angered that the Jews were not more compliant. The Secirity Police shot many people in the Ghetto and in the city streets along the route. This was all done in the city before the Polish populace. There were also German civilians un the city. Some of whom submitted official protests. There were 236 people shot in the ghetto and 42 in the streets leading to the train station. The Germans forced Jews to bury the bodies in the Czekaj Jewish cemetery, after which they were also shot.
Another transport to Belzec occurred 3 day later (July 10). Again the Security Police entered the Ghetto and conducted a selection at the Sammelplatz. Some 500 elderly Jews were taken to the Glogow forest and shot. As a result of the protests from Germans in the city, the SecuritybPolice were less brutal as they marched the selected Jews through the city to the train station. Afterwards the Germans ordered the Judenrat and Jews remaining in the Ghetto to pay for the transports. Perhaps because of thecprotests by Germans, the Security Police were less bruta as they drive the selrcted Jews to the train station. The Germans organized two further transports of the Rzeszów Jews from Staroniwa station (July 4 and 19). The precise number of people deported is unknown. Sources differ as to the precise number. Estimates range at 18,000 - 21,000 victims. About 3,000-4,000 Jews remained in the Ghetto after the July deportations.
Some 2,800 Jews who managed to survive the slave labor camps were was transported to the newly reopened Szebnie concentration camp (fall 1943). Soon after arrival they were transported to Auschwitz (November 5).
Only 100 Rzeszów Jews are known to have survived in the town. fter the war an additional 600 Rzeszów Jews managedto survive in the Soviet Union.
Herzog, Adolf Schuster. And Heaven Shd No Tears (University of Wiscoinsin Press: 1995).
Ringelblum archive.
Wilf, Samuel Isak.
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