Słonowice (Slonowice) | Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship

Survivors from Kazimierza Wielka: Rakowski and Banach families. ©USHMM Photo Archive / Irena N., born in 1925, was requisitioned to cover the pit with soil three days after the execution. © Cristian Monterroso – Yahad-In Unum Yahad’s team at the execution site © Cristian Monterroso – Yahad-In Unum “In October 1942, Nazi soldiers killed here about 300 Jewish people here – Citizens of Kazimierza Wielka and its surroundings. © Cristian Monterroso – Yahad-In Unum Memorial in the memory of 224-500 Jews killed in the forest near Słonowice. © Cristian Monterroso – Yahad-In Unum

Executions of Jews from Kazimierza Wielka in Slonowice

1 Execution site(s)

Kind of place before:
Forest
Memorials:
Yes
Number of victims:
Between 224 and 500

Witness interview

Irena N., born in 1925: “When I came to the execution site, there was nothing. Everything was clean; there weren’t any clothes, any belongings and so on. Perhaps someone came during the night to clean everything. We don’t know. Perhaps they were killed with their clothes on them? Were they naked? No one knew.” (Witness n°553, interviewed in Slonowice on April, 2nd 2016)

Polish Archives

“1/ Date and place of execution: November, 14th 1942, in the forest of Slonowice.

2/ Type of execution: shooting.

3/ Data concerning killed people:

Poles, Jews, foreigners: Jews.

How many people were killed: 224 people.

Where did the victims come from: Local Jews.

5/ Who conducted the execution: Gestapo from Miechow and local gendarmes.” [Court Inquiries about executions and mass graves n°452 (Miejscowosc: Kazimierza Wielka; Gmina: Kazimierza Wielka, Powiat: Pinczow; Wojewodztwo: Kieleckie]

Historical note

Słonowice is located 75km south of Kielce. There were no Jews in Słonowice before the war. The majority of them lived in Kazimiera Wielka, a town located 4km east of Słonowice.  During the 18th century many Jews settled down in the surroundings, for instance Gorzkow, Chruszczenia Mala, Wojslawice, Stojanowice, Plechow, Kaczkowie, Zagorzanach, Krzyskowice, Chruszczena Wielka, Donatkowice. In all there were about 61 Jews.  At the beginning of the 20th century, out of 2,188 people living in Kazimierza Wielka, 293 were Jewish, comprising 13% of the total population. Jews were mainly traders and artisans. They did have a synagogue, but they did not have a cemetery in Kazimierza Wielka. The closest one was located in Koszyce. According to Kazimierz K., interviewed by Yahad, Jewish and Polish children went to the same school

Holocaust by bullets in figures

Germans invaded Kazimierza Wielka in September 1939. Straight after their arrival, the Jewish synagogue was destroyed, and the anti-Jewish measures were implemented. All the Jews were marked with distinctive badges in form of the Star of David. The Jewish shops were closed and they were enlisted into the forced labor. The Jews were forced to sew uniforms for German soldiers, to build a pool, and to irrigate the fields. According to the local witness interviewed by Yahad, there wasn’t any ghetto and the Jews continued to live in their own houses up until the first aktion. The aktion took place on November 14, 1942, when from 224 to 500, according to different sources, were taken to the forest located close to the village of Słonowice and shot.

For more information about the killings in Kazimierza Wielka, please refer to the corresponding profile

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