Bochnia | Lesser Poland Voivodeship

"Anton Berka was the head of the Arbeitsamt (Labor Office) from 1941 until the evacuation of the Jews from Bochnia in August 1942. His office distributed work to Jewish labor units in the Bochnia ghetto. He gave orders and sent large groups of Jews from the ghetto to labor camps. Those who could not work or who were sick were sent to extermination camps. I witnessed the deportation of about a hundred people incapable of work, organized by Berka, to the Pustków extermination camp. On that occasion, Berka mistreated the Jews along the way."

[Deposition of Jeremiash Austerweil, born February 26, 1915, in Bochnia, residing in Linz, given as part of the trial of Anton Berka – head of the Arbeitsamt in the Bochnia Ghetto; executions of the Jews of Bochnia; Kr 502-3576]

"I was the head of the Bochnia Arbeitsamt from 1941 to 1944. In addition to myself, I had three co-directors at the Arbeitsamt. I remember the names Schindela, Österreicher, and Struck. The head of the Kraków Arbeitsamt was Dr. Nitsche. In Bochnia, approximately 1,500 Jews were registered daily, and 500 volunteers would go to work in Kraków. The latter were accompanied by an Arbeitsamt employee in groups of 15; these were men and women aged 18 to 45. Those who did not volunteer were taken by police to Wondska, a gathering camp near Kraków. I do not know where these people went. The Jews came from annexed offices in the Kraków camp and were then sent where they were needed. I do not believe they went to Auschwitz.

At the end of 1942, there were forced expeditions where people registered on lists were sent elsewhere. I never hit anyone. There were three or four cases where Jews refused to go to the ammunition depot. I believe I remember that in 1943 there were two evacuations where 5,000 Jews were gathered. Of those who were registered for the Arbeitseinsatz, no one returned. There were 1,500 Jews, and perhaps 150 or 170 Jews returned. Perhaps a total of 3,000 Jews were evacuated. They were taken by the SS to the train station towards Kraków. I do not know where they went.

At the end of 1943, I no longer dealt with Jewish labor units. SS-Obersturmbannführer Haase of the Sipo replaced me in that position. He carried out other actions and was very severe. There were 5,000 Jews in the ghetto at that time. Haase gave the order at the end of 1942 or early 1943 to provide 150 Jews to the ammunition factory and workshops. The Judenrat had to provide the sum of half a million zlotys to the SS chief, and this on two occasions. I myself never received anything from the Judenrat. The head of the Judenrat in Bochnia was named Weise. I often traveled with him. The head of the Sipo in Bochnia was named Schönburg. He worked with six or seven people, Volksdeutsche or Poles."**

[Deposition of Anton Berka, given as part of the trial of Anton Berka – head of the Arbeitsamt in the Bochnia Ghetto; executions of the Jews of Bochnia; Kr 502-3576]

"10.11.1942. Bochnia (prison): Shooting by the Gestapo of three Polish citizens of Jewish origin. The bodies were buried in the Jewish cemetery.

11.11.1942. Bochnia (Jewish cemetery): Shooting by the Gestapo of 21 Polish citizens of Jewish origin from the Wiśnicz prison. The bodies were buried in the Jewish cemetery.

Bochnia (cemetery, located near Krakowskie Przedmieście): Shooting of approximately 100 Poles and Polish citizens of Jewish origin, including one French prisoner who had escaped from a convoy.

Bochnia (Jewish cemetery): The German police individually or collectively shot approximately 300 Poles and Polish citizens of Jewish origin at the cemetery between 1940–1944. The bodies were buried on site.

Bochnia (old cemetery): The German police individually or collectively shot approximately 500–600 Poles (including a Polish priest) between 1940–1944, most often because they did not have their identity papers. In addition, 60 citizens of Jewish origin were murdered there during the liquidation of the Bochnia ghetto in September 1943."**

[Remarks by Jan Kaczmarczyk, dated July 20, 1961; Prosecutor’s Office, Kraków, Bochnia; P1010311–P1010316. Bulletin of the Chief Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Poland, concerning the extermination of the population in Kraków Voivodeship, primarily in Bochnia County. Extermination of the Population in the Polish Territories during the Years 1939–1945, Volume IX, Warsaw, 1957]

**"Mass shootings of Jews in the Bochnia camp took place on the days of three actions carried out in the camp. The corpses were buried in the ’Solna Góra’ square within the camp; they were brought by cart from the shooting site.

Initially, the order was to put all the corpses in a house located there, but it turned out to be too small. So, it was ordered to dismantle the house and place the bodies on a pile (bricks, planks, corpses, planks, etc.). The pile was so high that a ladder was used to place the corpses on it. There were two such piles, 800 corpses on each pile. Barrels of beer were placed around for the SS men. The piles burned while they partied."**

[Holocaust Survivors Testimonies, File #34, page 162, AZIH 301/3443, Bochnia Camp]

Bochnia is a town on the River Raba in southern Poland, serving as the administrative seat of Bochnia County in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It lies roughly halfway between Tarnów to the east and the regional capital, Kraków, to the west, about 38 km (24 miles) from each.

The Jewish community in Bochnia has a long and rich history, with official records dating back to the 15th century—though Jewish settlers are believed to have arrived even earlier, possibly in the 13th century, shortly after the discovery of significant salt deposits in the area. By the late 15th century, Bochnia already had a distinct Jewish quarter that served as the center of communal life. This district housed prayer spaces, a mikvah, and slaughterhouses. Many prayer houses were organized in private homes.

By the late 19th century, a dedicated prayer house was built that drew several hundred worshippers daily. Nearby, another was constructed exclusively for Bobov Hasidim, serving as both a place of worship and study. A further Hasidic prayer house followed in 1922. By the end of the 1930s, a formal synagogue had been erected; today, the building serves as a bank.

From the mid-19th century onward, Bochnia’s Jewish residents were deeply involved in commerce, operating numerous shops, restaurants, mills, and artisan workshops. They also played a prominent role in local industry, running large enterprises such as brickworks, stoneware factories, and even the town’s first gas station and private automobile. The community’s educated class included many doctors, teachers, and lawyers—often graduates of the prestigious Jagiellonian University.

On the eve of the Second World War, around 3,500 Jews lived in Bochnia, comprising roughly 20 percent of the town’s population.

Bochnia was occupied by German forces on September 3, 1939. During the occupation, the town’s Jewish community faced escalating persecution. Jews were immediately banned from public schools, required to wear armbands bearing the Star of David, and had their places of worship closed. In the autumn of 1939, the Germans established a Judenrat (Jewish Council) and a Jewish police force. Beginning in 1940, Jewish residents were systematically deported to forced labor camps—a process that continued throughout much of the ghetto’s existence.

In March or April 1941, an open ghetto was established in Bochnia’s old Jewish quarter. Around 15,000 Jews passed through it, including residents of Bochnia, nearby villages, and towns such as Kraków, Krzeszowice, and Mielec. The ghetto was heavily guarded by German and Ukrainian forces, and from July 1941, leaving without permission meant death. In the following months, over 300 people, including children, were executed at the Jewish cemetery. The Judenrat oversaw internal affairs, including population registration and collecting German-imposed fees—both before and after deportation Aktions. Despite harsh conditions, a school, a Bet Midrash, and later a hospital operated within the ghetto. In spring 1942, it was enclosed by a fence and placed under the control of the Polish police. By late 1941, about 2,000 Jews worked in workshops producing goods for the German army, while others were taken out daily for forced labor.

On August 22, 1942, Jews from surrounding towns—including Brzeżany, Nowy Wiśnicz (1,500 people), Uście Solne, Trzciana, Targowisko, Niedary, Bogucice, Rzezawa, and Lipnica Murowana—were gathered in Bochnia ahead of the first deportation Aktion. Between August 25 and 27, the Aktion was carried out by German Gestapo and SS units, assisted by Ukrainian auxiliaries and members of the Polish Labor Battalion (Baudienst). While some ghetto inmates managed to go into hiding, many were shot on the spot. Between 500 and 800 people—primarily the elderly, hospital patients, and children deemed unfit for transport—were taken to the Niepołomice Forest near Baczków village, where they were executed and buried. More than 5,000 others were deported to the Bełżec killing center.

After the first Aktion, about 1,000 Jews officially remained in the ghetto, but the number soon rose to 5,000 as many returned from hiding. Permits were issued, and workshops resumed, employing around 3,000 people. During the second Aktion, on November 10, 1942, 150 Jews were shot and about 500 deported to Bełżec. Ironically, that same day, Bochnia was declared one of five official “Jewish residential areas” in District Kraków, and the population again swelled to over 5,000.

From December 1942, the Bochnia ghetto was divided into two sections:

• Ghetto A, designated as a forced labor camp for permit-holding workers

• Ghetto B, housing the elderly, disabled, sick, and children

An underground resistance cell operated in Ghetto B, but most of its members were arrested by the Germans on February 26, 1943.

In spring 1943, about 100 Jews were sent to work at the Płaszów camp, followed by another 100 in the summer.

The final liquidation of the ghetto took place in early September 1943. Those unable to travel—mainly residents of Ghetto B, including the elderly, sick, children, and Jewish police—were executed at the municipal cemetery, their bodies burned. According to a memorial plaque on Solna Góra Street, at least 300 victims, including about 200 people caught while hiding, were burned there on September 4, 1943. The remaining 4,000 residents of Ghetto B were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, while about 1,000 others were sent to the Szebnie labor camp, where most perished. Killings of Jews in hiding continued in the following months.

After the liquidation, about 150 Jews were kept in Bochnia to dismantle the ghetto and search for hidden valuables, which were sent to the Reich. They were later joined by 100 more Jews who had appealed to the Judenrat for protection. When discovered, 100 of these were shot, and survivors were forced to burn the bodies. The remaining workers stayed until December 1943, when 50 were sent to Płaszów and 100 to Szebnie.

The Bochnia ghetto’s toll was devastating: at least 13,000 Jews were deported to extermination camps such as Bełżec or Auschwitz, and over 1,800 were murdered in Bochnia and its surrounding area.

After the war, only a small number of Jewish survivors returned. In June 1945, about 100 Jews were recorded in Bochnia, but by July 1947, only 12 remained. Most emigrated to the United States, Western Europe, or Israel.

For more information about the destruction of Jews in Baczków, see the corresponding profile.