Supraśl | Podlaskie Voivodeship

Destruction of Jews in Supraśl

1 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:

Forest

Memorials:

No

Period of occupation:

1941-1944

Number of victims:

Between 3 and 15

Witness interview

Jadwiga Ż., born in 1931: "For the first few months of the German occupation, the Jews of Supraśl were left alone, continuing to live here even after the Białystok Ghetto was set up. The deportations Jews from Supraśl began four to six months after the beginning of the German occupation. Working in a German’s garden, I saw everything: the Jews were gathered in the market square, then divided in groups. Some were loaded onto a truck, others onto horse-drawn wagons, and the rest were forced to march to Białystok on foot. After the roundup, the Germans forced local residents, including my uncle, and their wagons to clear out the Jewish homes. They ordered them to collect everything of value, from furniture to clothing. These plundered goods were stored in the Protestant church—which the Soviets had previously turned into a military club and the Germans used as a warehouse—before being shipped away. My father managed to take a few pieces of clothing, reasoning it was better ‘so they wouldn’t fall into German hands’." (Witness N°YIU1157P, interviewed in Supraśl, on September 23, 2020)

Historical note

Supraśl is a town in Białystok County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, located approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Białystok.

Although the first mentions of Jewish residents in Supraśl date back to the second half of the 17th century, the community experienced its most significant development during the 19th century. In 1833, the town was home to 459 followers of Judaism, and this population remained relatively stable throughout the rest of the century, numbering 538 people in 1878 and 466 in 1897. The first synagogue in Supraśl was built at the end of the 18th century. The heart of Jewish life, including the main synagogue, the mikveh (ritual bath), and the cheder (religious school), was centered around Zgierska Street, which is known today as 11 Listopada Street. In the 1860s, a new brick house of prayer was constructed. The Jewish community of Supraśl used the Jewish cemetery in Białystok.

During the 1921 census, 390 residents declared the Jewish faith, accounting for approximately 17% of the town’s total population. Although the Jewish population declined to 286 people by 1931, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust notes that the town’s existing industrial plants and a growing tourism sector managed to provide steady employment for the Jewish population, despite the broader economic crises of the interwar period. Jews were mainly engaged in trade and crafts, and the largest entrepreneur in Supraśl was Samuel Hirsz Cytron.

Yahad-In Unum’s witness Jadwiga Ż, born in 1931, recalls that before the war, Supraśl was a harmonious blend of Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Jews, and Tatars. All the communities got along well, and all the children attended the same school. However, this situation changed after the establishment of Soviet rule, under which numerous people were deported.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

Following their occupation of Supraśl on June 28, 1941, German forces immediately initiated the persecution of the local Jewish population. Ryszard M., born in 1932, recalled that when the Germans arrived at Supraśl, many Jews fled East. According to archival sources, on July 29, 1941, more than a dozen Jewish residents, including the local rabbi, Szlomo Awigdor Rabinowicz, were shot and buried a few hundred meters from the sawmill, in the direction of Bialystok. On that very same day, the Germans set fire to the town’s synagogue. In addition to physical violence and the destruction of places of worship, heavy financial contributions were imposed on the Jewish community, and all men aged 16 to 60 were subjected to forced labor for the occupying forces.

On November 2, 1942, news of an impending deportation reached the town. Forewarned, the majority of the Jewish population managed to flee and seek refuge in the surrounding forests. Those who remained were ordered by the Germans to assemble in the market square. From there, some were loaded onto a truck and others onto horse-drawn wagons driven by requisitioned locals, while the remaining Jews were forced to march on foot. In this manner, they were all taken to a transit camp established in the former barracks of the 10th Uhlan Regiment in Białystok. From Białystok, the Supraśl Jews were ultimately deported to the Treblinka killing center. After the deportation Aktion, the Germans conscripted local residents to clear Jewish homes in Supraśl, ordering them to collect all valuables, furniture, clothing, and household items. These belongings were stored in the Protestant church before being transported away.

According to available archival information and witness testimonies, between 3 and 15 Jews killed during the Shoah are buried in a temporary cemetery at the edge of the forest in Supraśl, as the Germans banned the Jews from using the Jewish cemetery in Białystok. One of these victims was Rywka. Both witnesses interviewed in Supraśl by the Yahad-In Unum team, Ryszard M., born in 1932 and Jadwiga Ż., born in 1931, recall her fate and that of her mother, Kawa. Because of their poverty, Kawa frequently asked neighbors for food to support herself and her 18-year-old daughter during the German occupation. Rywka was killed by German forces, who beat her with rifle butts. Following her daughter’s death, Kawa suffered a mental breakdown and was also killed. Both women were buried at this forest site.

Ryszard M. recalled another shooting of a Jewish family who was hiding in the surroundings of Supraśl. Archival records indicating that a German Jewish family, parents with their child, fleeing the Białystok Ghetto was shot at a location called "Red Cross" ("Czerwony Krzyż") suggest that this refers to the same family, as the shooting site Ryszard M. showed the team was indeed near the place marked by the red cross. Although the archives note the family fled the Białystok Ghetto while Ryszard M. recalled them fleeing from the Warsaw area, it remains highly probable that both sources describe the same action given the identical geographical location. The bodies of the victims were likely buried at the killing site, though it was not possible to confirm this information.

Jewishgen

Nearby villages

• Białystok
• Suchowola

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