Tuliszków | Greater Poland Voivodeship

Destruction of Jews in Tuliszków

1 Killing site(s)

Kind of place before:

Forest

Memorials:

Yes

Period of occupation:

1939-1944

Number of victims:

1

Witness interview

Maria S., born in 1928: "Before the war, Tuliszków was home to many Jews who lived mainly around the market square. I remember four Jewish houses specifically. There was Harczyk, who owned a shop selling scarves, tools, and bicycle parts. On Listopada Street (now Mickiewicza), a Jew named Skowron ran the bakery.

While most owned shops, others, like Śliwka, traveled from village to village repairing pots and soldering. There were about ten prominent Jewish figures, including a Jewish mayor. In those days, the community was centered in the heart of town, though relations between the Jews and Poles were not always warm." (Witness N°YIU1632P, interviewed in Tuliszków, on October 24, 2024)

Historical note

Tuliszków is a town in Turek County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in central Poland. Tuliszków is located approximately 202 km (125.5 mi) west of Warsaw.

The Jewish presence in Tuliszków dates back to the early 19th century, following the lifting of a historical ban on their settlement. The community quickly established a religious foundation, building a synagogue, which was located on 1 Maja Street. The cemetery, on the other hand, was situated along the road to the village of Krępa. They also built Hasidic prayer houses. Local Jews traded in grain, timber, and cattle, while others engaged in farming, as they owned their own homesteads.

By the late 19th century, the community numbered 200 people, representing 11% of the town’s inhabitants. According to the 1921 census, there were 260 Jewish residents within a total population of 2,358, which consisted primarily of ethnic Poles and Germans. The years between the world wars were marked by hardship; under the spiritual guidance of Rabbi Joel Foks, the community struggled against a deteriorating economy and a surge in antisemitic sentiment. These pressures led numerous families to relocate to larger urban centers in search of stability.

Consequently, on the eve of World War II, the Jewish population had slightly decreased to approximately 230 residents.

Holocaust by bullets in figures

German forces occupied Tuliszków in mid-September 1939, immediately followed by the imposition of restrictive anti-Jewish measures. These decrees stripped Jewish residents of their religious and civil rights, sanctioned the plundering of their property, and mandated forced labor, including road repair. By the end of November 1939, the Jews were compelled to wear identifying armbands. During the winter of 1939–1940, the occupiers established one of the region’s earliest ghettos by forcing the Jewish population into the town’s cramped back alleys. This area was characterized by severe overcrowding and a lack of electricity.

While a Judenrat and a Jewish police force were installed to oversee internal affairs, the exploitation continued; in the spring of 1940, over 50 Jewish men were sent to Rawicz to perform forced labor. This period was also marked by isolated killings of Jewish residents. Yahad-In Unum witness Maria S., born in 1928, provided a firsthand account of these events, testifying that she witnessed the killing of a Jewish couple by German forces in Tuliszków.

The Tuliszków Ghetto was liquidated around October 1, 1941, coinciding with the holiday of Yom Kippur. The inhabitants were moved to the Kowale Pańskie Ghetto, an area also referred to as the Czachulec Ghetto or Juden-Kolonie Czachulec. Established by the German occupiers across the municipalities of Kowale Pańskie and Malanów, this site functioned as a central collection point for approximately 4,000 Jewish people from the Turek Landkreis, with its administrative headquarters located in Czachulec Nowy. Among the 20 to 50 local farmers ordered by the authorities to transport the Jewish residents from the Tuliszków market square was the father of witness Michał M., who was born in 1929.

Between December 1941 and July 1942, the community was definitively dissolved. While some laborers were sent to the Łódź Ghetto or Poznań work camps, most Kowale Pańskie detainees were deported to the Chełmno killing center and murdered upon arrival.

Only a small number of Jewish residents from Tuliszków survived the war. Witness Maria S. recalled a specific shopkeeper who had managed to survive by hiding in a farmer’s cellar in the nearby village of Wróblina. However, when he returned to Tuliszków following the liberation, he was shot by Red Army soldiers inside his own shop. His remains were buried in the Krępa forest by fellow Jewish survivors who, after performing the burial, fled in different directions and did not return to the town. Today, a commemorative stone marks the burial site of this individual.

For more information about the deportation of Jews from Czachulec Nowy, please follow the corresponding profile.

Jewishgen

Nearby villages

• Czachulec Nowy
• Koło

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