Miedzna | Masovian Voivodeship

Wacław O., born in 1935: “ I don't know how many people died exactly, we didn't count. It was probably 1943. The grave was 10, 15 meters long. It was shallow, barely covered with sand.” ©Kate Kornberg/Yahad - In Unum The Yahad team during an interview. ©Kate Kornberg/Yahad - In Unum Killing and burial site No. 1. at the edge of the Miedzna forest, where several dozen Jews were shot by the Germans in the fall of 1943. ©Kate Kornberg/Yahad - In Unum Killing site No. 2, where 7 Jews hiding in the bunker were killed. In the winter of 1943, the Germans discovered the bunker and threw grenades inside in order to kill the victims. ©Kate Kornberg/Yahad - In Unum

Destruction of Jews in Miedzna

2 Sitio(s) de ejecución

Tipo de lugar antes:
Edge of the forest (1); Bunker in the forest (2)
Memoriales:
No
Período de ocupación:
1939-1944
Número de víctimas:
Over 42

Entrevista del testigo

Władysław O., born in 1935: "The Jews were shot at the edge of the forest. At that time, it was just bushes, but the forest has grown since. There were about fifteen of them, from Miedzna and other places. They had to dig several pits themselves. All of them were killed in one day, their bodies covered with sand, the ground leveled, and then the Germans drove away." (Testimony N°YIU484P, interviewed in Miedzna, on July 30, 2015)

Archivos polacos

"35 Jews shot in January 1943 in Piaski." [Court Inquiries about executions and mass graves in districts, provinces, camps and ghettos = Ankieta Sadow Grodzkich, 1945 Reel 14 File 44.]

Nota histórica

Miedzna is a village in the Mazovian Voivodeship, Węgrów County, located along the Miedzanka River. The earliest historical mention of Miedzna dates back to 1441.

Jewish settlement in Miedzna grew during the 19th and early 20th centuries. By 1870, there were 92 Jews living in the village, a number that increased to 145 in 1874, 100 in 1890, 400 in 1921, and approximately 600 by 1939. The Jewish community maintained a house of prayer and played an important role in the local economy. They ran several businesses, including grocery stores owned by Ch. Celnikow, A. Goldsztejn, N. Szmklerz, and Zybernagiel; a dye works operated by P. Farbiarz; a tailoring workshop by P. Miljon; a dairy by Ch. Wajsberg; an oil press by D. Werner; a bakery by F. Erlich; and a windmill by M. Finkelsztejn.

Holocausto por balas en cifras

Miedzna was occupied by German forces in September 1939. According to a Yahad witness, a German unit established barracks in the village.

In November 1941, approximately 302 Jews were deported to the ghetto in Stoczek. These individuals were later sent to the Treblinka killing center.

The Jews in hiding were progressively discovered and murdered over the following years. In the fall of 1943, an execution took place at the edge of the Miedzna forest. A Yahad witness described a shallow mass grave, measuring between 10 and 15 meters in length. The victims, including Jews from Miedzna and nearby areas, were forced to dig the grave themselves before being shot. According to sources, 35 individuals were murdered. Additional graves were reportedly at the site, though their exact locations remain unknown.

During the winter of 1943, another group of 10 Jews, both men and women, attempted to hide in a bunker concealed beneath a juniper tree planted in a small bucket in the forest. The bunker was solidly built and furnished, offering temporary refuge. To survive, the group resorted to stealing food, which raised suspicion among locals and alerted both Polish police and German authorities. The hiding place was discovered when traces in the snow led the German forces to its location. A grenade was thrown into the bunker, killing the seven individuals inside. A Yahad witness later identified the location, now marked by a hole in the ground where an oak tree grows.

Pueblos cercanos

  • Stoczek
  • Wola Orzeszowska
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