.JPG&f=jpg)
.JPG&f=jpg)
.JPG&f=jpg)
.JPG&f=jpg)
.JPG&f=jpg)
1 Killing site(s)
Władysław K. Born in 1930: "I remember how, during the German occupation, the bodies of several Jews were brought here. I don’t know exactly where the victims were from—probably from Ciechanowiec or Brańsk, because no Jews lived closer to our village. The Germans found them and killed them in the meadow near Kose-Basie, in the direction of Kostry-Podsędkowięta. I don’t recall the exact year anymore. I went there out of curiosity along with a few other people, even though most villagers were afraid, because being too curious in those days could cost you dearly. The people who brought the bodies back and threw them into the pit to cover them with dirt are long gone, and so are their children. It was a small group of Jews, about 6 or 7 people: men, women, and children. They weren’t buried far from the road leading off the main road toward the forest, there was a small clearing back then. Over time, people started digging out sand and soil from there, and later they put up fertilizer warehouses that stand to this day. The grave lies about 20 meters behind that building. The site has changed a lot over the years and eventually became completely overgrown with weeds and forest." (Witness N°YIU601P, interviewed in Koce-Basie, on June 22, 2016)
Koce-Basie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Ciechanowiec, within Wysokie Mazowieckie County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in northeastern Poland. It is located approximately 61 km (38 mi) southwest of the regional capital, Białystok, and 120 km (75 mi) northeast of Warsaw.
According to a local witness interviewed by Yahad - In Unum, no Jews lived in Koce-Basie on the eve of the Second World War. The nearest town with a significant Jewish population was Ciechanowiec, located approximately 10–12 km southwest of Koce-Basie. In 1921, there were 1,649 Jewish residents in the town, accounting for roughly half of the total population. While the exact figure for September 1939 remains uncertain, it is estimated to have been between 2,500 and 4,000.
For more information about the pre-war Jews from Ciechanowiec, please follow the corresponding profile.
During the German occupation of the Białystok region, a small group of Jewish people was killed and buried on the outskirts of Koce-Basie. Information regarding this event was ascertained thanks to a local witness interviewed by the Yahad - In Unum in 2016. According to Władysław K., born in 1930, the victims were 6 or 7 Jewish individuals, including men, women, and children. They likely originated from nearby towns such as Brańsk or Ciechanowiec, as no Jewish population lived directly in or around Koce-Basie. After being captured by the Germans, they were murdered in a meadow located between the villages of Kostry-Podsędkowięta and Koce-Basie.
The bodies were thrown into a pit in a small forest clearing on the right side of a local road leading off the main road toward the forest, and then covered with dirt. A few local residents, including Władysław, watched the burial out of curiosity, despite the dangers posed by the German forces.
To this day, the site remains unmarked, as no memorial has been erected and no post-war exhumation of the remains has taken place.
Do you have additional information regarding a village that you would like to share with Yahad ?
Please contact us at contact@yahadinunum.org
or by calling Yahad – In Unum at +33 (0) 1 53 20 13 17