Jacek Article

Association for the Protection of the Heritage of the Jews of the Dukla Region "Shtetl Dukla"

Two Holocaust narratives in and around Dukla, through the eyes of Poles and Jews

For many centuries, the Jewish community was connected with Dukla and the Dukla region. Together with Poles and Ruthenians, they enjoyed the times during which the towns and neighboring villages they lived in flourished, and also shared the hard reality of worried and painful days.

Thanks to their considerable economic and cultural potential, the Jews contributed significantly to the development of the Dukla region.

An important factor in the development of Jewish settlement in private cities, such as Dukla, Rymanow or Dynow, was being in the favor of the town's owners, who noticed and made use of Jewish activity in the area of trade and crafts. For many years the secretaries and advisers of the Mecinski family, the owners of Dukla, were Mr. Moritz Rosenberg and Mozes Chaim Ehrenreich.

The Jews were actively involved in the social and economic life of the Jewish communities with which they lived. They often acted as mayors or deputies, councilors or assessors. Dr. Dawid Smulowicz, attorney at law, was the deputy mayor of Dukla for many years.

In Dukla there was a compromise in the city council, consisting in the distribution of seats in such a way that the Jews had two more seats than the Christians, and the mayor was always a Christian.

During the years of living together in Dukla, there have never been pogroms or collective protests against the Jewish population. [56] [1]

The first German occupation authority in Poland, on September 1, 1939, was by military management. At its head, on the orders of Hitler, stood commander of the army of East, General Gerd von Rundstedt, and after him, from October 20, 1939, General Johannes Blaskowitz. The military ruled through the civil administration, and the heads of the civil administration, as well as the commanders of security police and security service groups, reported to each army corps.

While the military campaign in Poland was till ongoing, on September 15, 1939. Hitler appointed Hans Frank, minister of the Reich and president of the German Academy of Law, to head the civil administration. to whom civil administration reported.

To preserve the appearance of the rule of law, Hitler, by a decree of October 8, 1939, incorporated into the Reich Pomerania, Greater Poland, Gorny Silesia and Kujawy as well as some parts of Marovia and the Lodz and Bialystok provinces. From the rest of conquered areas of Poland, on October 12, 1939, he created the General Goverment, entrusting the position of general governor to Hans Frank, who directly reported to him.

The General Government was divided into four districts: Krakow, Lublin, Warsaw and Radom. Each of them had a head, which at the end of January 1941 were called district governors. On August 1, 1941, another district was created - Galicia, with the seat of government in Lviv.

An important element in maintaining the authority of the General Government was the police. They were the main center of terror, the organ executing extermination, and they also determined the fate of the Jewish nation from the first days of the occupation. The police were divided into: security police - Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo) and order police - Ordnungspolizei (Orpo). The latter's forces were organized by two formations, which essentially had the same role. That was: the protective police - Schutzpolizei (Schupo), which was stationed in larger cities, and the military police - Gandarmerie, in smaller towns, communes and neighborhoods. The posts of the latter employed a commander and 12 or 15 soldiers.

On October 26, 1939, the premiere issue of the "Journal of Regulations for the General Government" was published, and contained two orders. [57] The first concerned all inhabitants of Polish nationality between the ages of 18 and 60, while the second concerned Jews and made them subject to forced labor. The authority over these groups was entrusted to the higher commander of the SS and the police.

Another regulation that was to restrict the freedom of the Jewish people was that of November 23, 1939, published in the above-mentioned "Dziennik" - "On the designation of Jews and Jews in the General Government". It obligated every Jew who had reached the age of 10 to wear clothing with a right sleeve and to wear a white band with a width of not less than 10 cm with a blue star of David on his right sleeve. A failure to comply with this order was punished by imprisonment. The second directive of that day referred to the obligation to mark Jewish shops with the same symbol and it was forbidden to mark such companies in German. On that day, the "Dziennik" also published the third ordinance, which abolished all privileges and tax exemptions enjoyed by Jewish religious communities, associations and foundations. Other ordinances deprived Jews of their rights to state and local government retirement benefits, unemployment benefits, and benefits for pensioners and their families.

The harassment of the Jewish population by the German authorities hit the people who worked for salaried pay the most. All Jews who held positions in state and local government offices, judiciary and education were removed. Jewish attorneys were only allowed to appear before the Polish court until the end of the already pending cases. The Act of 14 September 1940 also deprived them of these rights. Jewish doctors and dentists had to limit their practice only to the citizens of the Mosaic faith. They were obliged to mark their offices with the Star of David.

On December 11, 1939, the governor of the Krakow district, Dr. Wachter, ordered the dissolution of all Jewish schools. It also removed students and teachers of the Mosaic faith from all public and private schools. Teaching in religious schools was also forbidden. The desire to learn led to organized secret teaching. Meetings with young people were organized in private apartments, during which the materials of primary school, middle school and religious school materials were taught. Self-learning and conspiratorial scientific clubs were a supplement.

The next step in eliminating Jewish citizens from social life was to deprive them [58] of their own funds. The head of the Department of Foreign Affairs at the office of the Governor General, Tetzner, issued an order, published in "Dziennik" on November 20, 1939, which made the all Jewish property at the disposal of the occupying power. All accounts, deposits and bank lockers [safe deposit boxes] kept under Jewish names were blocked in the banks. Each of Jewish owner could receive a sum of no more than 250 zlotys per week. The higher amounts were only paid to meet the needs of the institution maintaining the account. Any payment due to Jews, if it exceeded 500 zlotys. must be made exclusively only to the benefit of their accounts. It was also established the amount of cash that a Jew could have and dispose of was 2,000 zlotys. Amounts above this limit had to be paid into their owner's account.

The last regulation, which was to deprive Jews of their property, was the obligation to disclose in writing the possessions they held in the country and abroad, of immovable and movable goods, accounts and receivables, household appliances, workshop equipment, and everyday items (e.g. clothing). This ordinance was only intended to humiliate the citizens of the Mosaic faith and to destroy any force of resistance and hope for their survival in this difficult reality, because the previous ordinances already deprived the Jewish society of all property.

On November 28, 1939, a determination was issued to establish Jewish councils. This order provided for the establishment of Jewish Judenrat councils in each community. In municipalities with up to 10,000 inhabitants, the council was to be between 12 and 24 members. By December 31, 1939, elections were to be held, after which the council selected the president and his deputy. Its first duty was to deliver the list of council members to the appropriate German official. If the German official did not approve the list, then the elections had to be repeated or council members were selected by the official. The duties of the council included receiving the orders of the German authorities and carrying them out entirely under the pain of being held personally responsible. The whole powers of the council and the purpose of its existence were defined in the last sentence of the ordinance: "Jews and Jewess should obey the orders given by the council and execute German orders".

Shortly thereafter, the high commander of the SS and police, Kruger, announced two ordinances that were supposed to facilitate forced labor. The first of them was announced on December 11, 1939 and introduced a ban on changing or choosing a place of residence outside the proper commune for all Jews [59] in the General Government. A curfew was also been introduced from 21.00 to 5.00. This was one of the ordinances that began preparing the Jewish population for ghettoization. In "Dziennik", on January 26, 1940, an ordinance was also published which forbade Jews to use the railway under penalty of imprisonment or a fine. The second executive regulation of December 12, 1939, known as the "Order to make a census", determined the procedure, organization for conscription and the formation of working zones. All Jews of the General Government from the age of 14 to 60 were designated to work for forced labor. They were to be placed in camps for two years, but this period could be extended if the "goal of forced labor" was not achieved.

At the request of a senior official, the mayor of the city ordered a list of conscripts, and its preparation was the responsibility of the Jewish council. The council issued draft cards to those applicable. Departure to work was at the request of the German authorities. The conscripts on the spot were to present themselves with food for two days and two blankets. If any of them were a craftsman, he also had to take the tools he needed to do the job. This was the reason for prohibiting the sale, lien or other disposal of tools, under the threat of imprisonment of up to 10 years.

The German authorities did not publish ordinances concerning citizens of the Mosaic faith. Such ordinances were communicated by the mayors to the Jewish council, who announced them in full, giving the source of the ordinance.

Being on the board pf a Jewish council was not easy. Each of the councilors was personally responsible for carrying out a given order issued by the German authorities to the Jewish community. There were some privileges to compensate for the unpleasantness of fulfilling the role of a councilor. This function prevented the councilor from being removed from an occupied flat and made it easier to obtain a pass during the curfew.

The main duty of the Jewish councils was to implement numerous regulations of the German administration and police, which were aimed at preparing Jews for ghettos and being sent to forced labor. These included carrying out censuses of the Jewish population, assistance in resettlement actions, as well as organizing shipments to labor camps, and later to extermination camps. Within the Jewish districts, the councils dealt with issues of supply, social welfare, aid for refugees, and also medical aid. They kept records of the Jewish population, supervised cemeteries, and organized registry [official records] offices. On December 31, 1940, by the ordinance of the Governor General, [60] the Jewish council was obliged to organize primary and vocational education.

The restrictions imposed by the German authorities made overpopulation in Jewish quarters a great problem, and thus a real epidemiological threat. The most difficult situation was in communal quarters. Sanitary Commissions were appointed to take preventive measures. Their role was to control the quarters inhabited by the Jewish population, and to raise awareness of the fight against vermin, rats, as well as the necessity of taking measures to fight dirt, which could be the cause of an epidemic. For residents of communal rooms, the Commissions organized constant and free medical examinations.

Another ordinance meant that the Jewish population faced another important problem, which was hunger. The matter of supplying Jews fell almost entirely to the shoulders of self-help institutions, mainly to the Jewish Social Self-Help (Judische Soziele Selbsthilfe). It was headed by Dr. Michal Weichert, a writer by profession. The headquarters of the institution was in Krakow, and sub-units were located throughout the General Government. Over time, their number reached 400 outposts.

The related institutions were: the Central Nursing Council - a Polish institution and the Ukrainian Committee of Self-Help. The presidents of these institutions formed the Supreme Guardianship Council. Her tasks included trying to secure government resources to help people affected by the war, and donations from international charities. The last meeting of the Supreme Guardianship Council took place in January 1943, when "Operation Reinhard" [2]was in full swing.

The first military operations in the Dukla region began on September 7 at the Polish-Slovak border in the vicinity of the village Niżna Polanka - Grab, when the German 1st Gorska Division entered combat with the National Defense and Border Guard troops. In connection with the situation, the command of 2 pp KOP "Karpaty" was moved from Dukla to Iwonicz. Government offices and institutions also left the city.

After a night of mortar shelling the center of Dukla, on September 9, 1939, the Germans seized the city.

The entry of German troops into Dukla is recalled by the oldest living Jew of Dukla, Herman Altholz: I remember the first September 1939, I will never forget it. It was around 5 a.m. when we heard the explosions. Most of the people went out to the market. They said among themselves that it was just maneuvers. But my older brother said that in such a tense situation no exercises are organized, that such outbursts mean war. From September 7 we watched how the Polish troops were withdrawing from the border and among them we saw the National Guard, which was made up of local people. We saw how the Polish army [62] looked miserable then, that the National Guard carried rifles like in the Napoleonic war - such old rifles. It was just terrible to watch the Polish Army withdraw and leave us alone. Friday afternoon, before evening, silence. The troops withdrew and the shelling began that evening. We hid in cellars wherever we could, and all night we heard explosions and rifle shots. In the morning everything quieted down. I was looking through the door slits and I saw the German patrol. And then on Saturday morning the Germans entered Dukla. And then we saw the German strength. The German army came from the direction of Zmigród. In Dukla, near the court, it turned left, towards Krosno. There you saw the well-armed German army. All these armored cars, little infantry - everything motorized. This is why we knew that the Polish Army could not defend itself against this army. Not lacking bravery, but simply the old rifle from Napoleon's time could not fight the armored vehicle. Throughout Saturday, the German army marched through Dukla. The first days of the German occupation in Dukla were relatively quiet. After a few days, the reconstruction of the bridge over Jasiolka in Zboiska began, because the Polish Army, when retreating, blown up the bridge, and civilians were mobilized to help the German army rebuild this bridge. Naturally, Germany has already started to show what they are capable of. They already beat peoples and forced them to work hard, to do work that our people were not used to. But there were only Wehrmacht units in Dukla, there were no SS units. Therefore, no Jews were shot in Dukla itself. You felt this hatred, you felt a threat, but somehow it happened.

After the occupation of Dukla, the Germans created a new civil authority, headed by a Ukrainian named Bukatowicz.

On September 30, 1939, SS troops entered Dukla and that was the day before Sukkot. They gave the order to the Jewish population that tomorrow morning, that is on the first day of Sukkot, all the people were to gather in the market square and leave Dukla. In fact, the majority of the population gathered in the market square and spontaneously began to march north to Rogi all on foot, and from Rogi to the east towards Rymanów. But it was not a general exile of the Jews, because those who declared they had money resources could stay in Dukla. We traveled to Rymanów. By chance, there was a German commandant in Rymanów, who was decent. When our Jewish people went to him to find out what to do, he said, "This SS group that expelled you from Dukla today, also expelled the Jews from Rymanów. But when the Germans from SS group left Rymanów, the Jews [63] of Rymanów returned to the town." The German commandant did not object to the fact that the Jews would stay in Rymanów for two three days, and then they could return to Dukla. Unfortunately, about 90% of the Jewish population took advantage of his goodness and returned from Rymanów to Dukla. And only single families decided to move eastwards and move to the Soviet Union.

On January 9, 1949, all Jewish children were expelled from school on the basis of the order of the National Commissioner Krosno - Strzyzow.

At the beginning of 1940, twelve people formed a Dukla Judenrat, headed by Simon Stoff. This body included, inter alia, Izaak Maj, Pytia Hendler and Mordechai Tobias.

According to the list drawn up after the formation of the Jewish Council, there were 1650 Jews in Dukla before the Second World War, and at the beginning of 1940 - 1476. There were, before the war; 200 merchants and traders, 60 craftsmen, 40 workers, 7 freelancers, 15 private officials, including 1 local government (Solomon Unger). In 1940, there were: 66 merchants and traders, 57 craftsmen, 194 workers, 4 freelancers, 96 without work (mostly elderly people), 8 private officials (including 4 reduced ones). There were 135 hired workers in the labor camps, and 20 craftsmen ran workshops (tailors and shoemakers). There were two joint Jewish enterprises: a sawmill and a motor-mill (both under receivership).

After the regulations of the governor Hans Frank came into force, young and strong Jews of Dukla were forced to work as slaves in German enterprises operating in Dukla, i.e. Emil Ludwig (Munich), Artur Walde (Breslau), which used Jews to work in a road quarry.

The remaining Jewish businesses and stores were put into trusteeship, which worsened the already difficult economic conditions of the Jews in Dukla.

Workers employed in German enterprises were concentrated in the ghetto on Cergowa Street. The boundaries of the ghetto were surrounded [64] by a high fence made of solid boards, and each leave from the ghetto required an appropriate pass.

Those who worked in the quarry formed groups by themselves under the supervision of Chaskiel Goldmann and Hersch Ehrenreich.

135 workers worked in the quarry 10 hours a day, in very difficult field conditions, for a minimum wage of 15 - 20 zlotys a week. In addition, they received one bread, some marmalade and sugar every week.

Jewish workers were treated brutally both by Poles from the city guard and by German foremen in the quarry. A city policeman named Josef L. [3] liked to give Jews their morning drills. After waking up, he told them to run to Jasiolka where they were to get a "drink," and then told them to "graze" by the riverbank. Then the workers took their tools, formed by fours and went to the quarry with a song on their lips: Under Śmigły-Rydz's rule the Jews did nothing, but in the golden age of Hitler, Jews were taught to work.

The situation in the quarry is best illustrated by the testimonies of the surviving workers given after the war to the Jewish Historical Commission in Kraków, Mozes Kurzman: {...) When I came to Dukla in 1941, I had to register at the local Jundenrat and shortly afterwards I was assigned to work in quarries on some occasions by the Germans. Almost the entire population of the city was given this work. There were many victims of beatings, some, fearing beatings, hid under the automatil speed carts and died. One of the worst foremen was Hiller from Munich. He was a beast that nothing could stop. He tortured, threw shovels and iron crowbars at people. The shift that he supervised had to do 150% above the accepted norm. People fell from too over exertion in this work, and many died of exhaustion. (...) When returning from work, he checked whether anyone had a meal, potatoes, walked around the cookpots in the camp and checked whether anyone was cooking. He did not let up [65] in the evening. He was assisted by foreman Marcinkowski from Chorzów in Silesia (...)

And this is how Rubin Bergman recalls the work at the quarry: In 1940 or 1941, Karol Marcinkowski took the position of a foreman in the Emil Ludwik quarry in Dukla. In the meantime, I had a bakery in Dukla, and due to the fact that various employees from this company bought bread from me, I also met Karol Marcinkowski. The above-mentioned worked as a foreman and supervised the Jewish workers. During the work of the workers who loaded the stones on the cars, Marcinkowski brutally treated them, abusing his position. The brutality was directed at the weaker workers who he offended in German. He pretended to be a German and therefore considered himself entitled to harass the workers. I learned about his behavior from my brothers Osjasz and Maks Bergman, who worked in the quarry and other workers employed there ...

The highest form of cruelty was leaving Jewish workers in the excavation while sheering the rock. Jews were not allowed to hide in shelters, they had to find a safe place in the square where the stone was obtained.

I would also like to quote the testimony of Poles working in German companies made in 1970 to the Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Rzeszów, Franciszek K. testifies: I am a resident of Teodorówka, Krosno district. My flat is located about 1 km from Dukla. As it seems to me, in 1940, the German company "Artur Walde" came to Dukla, which organized work in the Lipowica quarry, where stones needed to build and repair roads were split. In the spring of 1941, the German company "Emil Ludwig Munchen" came there to build roads and bridges, and to cut stone in Lipowica needed for the works it was carrying out. Jews also worked in the above-mentioned companies, but it is difficult for me to say how many. Some said that the Emil Ludwig company employed more Jews than the Artur Walde company. The Jews were led to work by the employees of German companies, first from their homes in such a way that the Jews gathered at the gathering point in the market square, from where they were led to work, and after organizing a camp for the Jews, they were led to work from the camps. (...) During their work, the Jews received some soup and a piece of bread once a day. We do not know that Jews employed [66] in the companies were paid any remuneration (...). And also Kazimierz's testimony. P : During the Nazi occupation, I lived in Cergowa near Dukla, where I also live today. I remember that in 1940 two German companies came there, Emil Ludwig, who carried out road works from Dukla to Jasło and from Dukla to Barwinek. The second company, Artur Walde, was cleaving stone from quarries in Lipowica near Dukla. Both companies employed Poles and Jews. Thus, Poles and Jews were assigned to German companies to work on roads and in quarries on the basis of records, which were undoubtedly provided by local mayors. Those assigned to work in German companies had to report to work every day, as they were threatened with repressions by the Germans. (...) Workers of Polish nationality received some kind of financial remuneration for their work. It seems to me that at the beginning Jews received some kind of salary for those employed in road construction and in quarries, but later, when they placed Jews in the camp in Dukla, then, it seems to me, they did not receive any salary (...).

One of the means of biological destruction of Jews, used by the Germans from the beginning of the occupation, was the systematic limitation of food allocations given to it until their complete abandonment.

Providing the Jewish population with food and other necessities for life fell entirely on the shoulders of self-help institutions, and especially on the Jewish Social Self-Help, supported by the American Joint Distribution Committee. It was headed by a presidium of seven people based in Krakow. The work of this institution was done through delegations.

On June 7, 1941, the Stewards in Krakow established a delegation in Dukla, composed of: Chairman of the Delegation: Simon Stoff, Deputy Chairman: Leopold Werner and member: Markus Tobjas.

In one of the first reports, Simon Stoff presents the situation of the Jewish population in Dukla in this way: There are currently 1,485 Jews in Dukla. Applying for help 820 - 850. Using the help 650 people. Social welfare is provided by the Jewish Council, Z.S.S. People's Kitchen, Sanitary Commission of the Z.S.S., Common room (childcare). The operating subsidy was provided by Z.S.S. [67] in Krakow - 400 zlotys. The charges were provided with assistance in the form of repairing work shoes, medicines, emergency aids, People's Kitchen, and feeding children. Amounts spent on this purpose: Jewish Council PLN 734 zlotys. Common room 308 zlotys 10 gr . Kitchen 708 PLN 11 gr. 18 craftsmen run their workshops are mostly shoemakers and tailors. In addition, there are two enterprises under receivership, i.. e a sawmill and a steam mill. The expenses were covered from the taxation of members of the community and the Jewish Council. Money was also obtained from fees for bread and sugar cards, and voluntary contributions to food for children. Jews receive 10 dkg of sugar a month and 50 dkg of bread per person per week. This month, we received 100 pieces of soap from the Mayor, which were distributed among the refugees and poor locals. Comments: The Peoples Kitchen is struggling with a great shortage of provisions and dressings. The lack of larger allocations means that the kitchen has a great deficit, and there are more and more applicants. Voluntary contributions of the population are constantly decreasing. The population of Dukla was one of the poorest, and today it is completely without funds. Dukla is one of the poorest towns in the whole district and has the highest percentage of the Jewish population, the appearance of houses, people and children shows a picture of utter poverty. The biggest problem is winter, the lack of fire wood and charcoal, food and, above all, clothing is simply terrifying... The refugees, numbering 300 people, suffer indescribably, they are completely poor, with no employment - only a quarry, where 150 people work very hard, without sufficient food. During this work, shoes and clothes are constantly damaged, and it is not possible to take care of these people. There is a lot of work to be done in the area of community service now, but everything is crashing down due to lack of funding. The most serious and necessary thing today would be to receive a larger allocation for the Peoples Kitchen and the Children's Day Center - so that the Center could include more children and provide more intensive feeding, which is a matter of necessity.

Fryderk Krowka in Cergowa recalls: The Jews were seen among the houses with compost heaps next to them, and when there were potato peelings, it was all collected by Jews and cooked or baked and they lived on it. It was a very, very difficult period for them, so that it was a very huge experience. [68]

In July 1941, referring to his decree of January 24, 1939, H. Goring ordered R. Heydrich to undertake preparations for the final settlement of the Jewish issue. H. Frank passed the news about this to his associates in December 1941.

On January 20, 1942, a conference was held in the town of Wannsee near Berlin, at the seat of the Reich Minister of Economy, attended by 15 representatives of the authorities who were particularly interested in this issue. The conference was chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, who in his speech clearly revealed that in the course of the approaching final solution to the Jewish question, there are plans to exterminate about 11 million European Jews.

The first mass murder of the Jewish population in Dukla was committed on February 12, 1942. This is how the course of the crime was described in his diary by Jozef Guzik, a Dukla Jew who was hidden in Cergowa with the Welcer family: The sixth day of the week, the evening of the Holy Sabbath, the seventh month of Adar, that is February 12, 1943 - the year. Last year, at the same time, in the winter of 5702, the plague began in the nation.

Permission was given to the destructive Gestapo, in order to kill. An order was also issued that every Jew should give the Germans his leather coats. They explained this by the needs of their soldiers who are fighting against Russia in very difficult conditions, amid a harsh winter. As if we were guilty that they went to conquer this rich and full country. It was announced that whoever refused to return his coat would be killed without trial. And a terrible hunt began. These criminals searched the houses of Israel and if they found forbidden cloaks somewhere, they immediately brutally killed their owners. On the way, those who found nothing were also killed. It was evident that the Germans did not kill for one reason or another. It was clear that they had sentenced us to death. (...) Everyone clearly felt that his life was hanging in the balance. You've heard about the lists of people compiled by the Gestapo. Everyone trembled with fear, not knowing if he too was among the condemned. Suddenly death came to our city. She looked at our windows and gave the names to the inhabitants. On a winter day, the criminals came from Jasło, where they were stationed. It was Wednesday, the 24th month of Shvat, according to the civil calendar on February 11, 1942. That day, they went to the forest with rangers and hunters, but they didn't hunt anything. Forest animals were able to hide from them and save their lives. And they came back… (…).

In the evening they returned from hunting and left a list of seven people to be imprisoned at the Polish police station. During the night, among those [69] unfortunates the following were arrested: Mr. Naftali Chaim Stein, Mosze Zehngut, Issak Gutwirt, Mrs. Tila Freis and: Pinchas Weinstein, Haim Chohsztim and Aron Gulwirt. There was a great commotion in the city. Even though people expected misfortune, they could not believe blood would be seen. The next day, Thursday, it was beautiful winter weather. The sun shone in the sky and looked down on the genocide. There came the angels of destruction. The first one was pulled out by Mosze Zehngut. They demanded that he give them the goods he was hiding. He tried to defend himself by saying that he was a baker and had no merchandise. He was dragged from the police station outside, and in front of all the passers-by, on the main road opposite the prison, he was shot dead - a man as strong and powerful as cedar. He fell dead. The chairman of the community, Mr. Symon Sztoff, was called to stand as a witness and see these cruel acts with his own eyes. Then the young Icchak Gutwirt was dragged out and they also demanded the property from him. He said that they should go with him to his house and his mother would give them everything they had. They did not listen to his requests and right away they settled with him. Later, Mr. Naftali Chaim Stein was killed. Then they took Tila Freis and demanded that she give them the silver and the gold she had. She refused saying it wasn't there. They took her with them and went home. There was her husband, Mr. Israel, their eighteen-year-old daughter and little son. They were all taken outside the house and killed where they stood. Instead of Pinchas Weinstein, his wife was taken. She claimed that her husband was gone and she was ready to give them everything she had. They followed her and she gives them all the goods she had and she was sent home. Later, they began to wander the streets and found Chiaim Stein, Naftali's brother, whom they had killed earlier. He was running around the city looking for a hideout. The villains caught up with him in one of the streets and ended his young life. On the same day young Chaim Szpire, son of Mr. Jakub Szpire and Mr. Meir Richilszpen refugees from Germany refugees, and a girl: Cime Resztpic a refugee from Krakow were killed. Altogether eleven people were murdered. It was the beginning of the tragedy in our town of Dukla. Every day we heard news from nearby towns: Krosno, Korczyna, Frysztak, Biecz, Jaslo, Gorlice, Bobowa, also from more distant towns. It was said that each murder was worse than the previous one, and with the genocide and murder all property was taken away. People gave them everything they had to save their lives, but these criminals were after both life and property. And the blood of our sons of Israel flowed like water. And we have become a laughingstock in the eyes of the goyim, they mocked us, saying that we are like rams led to slaughter. Because nobody opened their mouths, nobody objected, nobody resisted, fear fell on everyone. Meanwhile, the world continues, as it always does - people go and come back, give and take, the sun rises, the earth [70] bears its fruit - as if nothing had happened. People are looking for an explanation, they think - this is how it should be. Everyone watches and listens, and eventually they begin to believe that they are actually at fault and that is the appropriate punishment. And this way it all becomes obvious.

The plight of the Polish and Jewish population was used by all kinds of social activities. One of such torturers was the aforementioned Jozef L., a city policeman. I would like to quote two accounts: Jewish and Polish, describing his activities, Sala Pinskier aka Guzik: Jozef L. I know from before the war, when we lived in the same house. During the occupation, L. reported to the Germans and became a policeman in Dukla. I saw for myself, because I lived right next to the road and in front of L.'s house. How he grabbed people carrying various food items, poured out their milk, took everything away and accused citizens to the Germans. People were very afraid of him and if they wanted to have peace from him, they had to pay off. He blackmailed the Rabbi of Dukla saying that if he didn't get money, he would turn him in to the Germans, so that the whole town had to consist of paying L., so that he would not expel Rabbi (...).

Turek Franciszek from Jasionka: I testify that at the beginning of 1941 Jozef L. settled in Dukla at Węgierska, Street, Krosno district, he applied to the German police and was wearing a navy blue uniform, if he had a weapon I do not know, because I had never seen it, but he wore a rubber stick with which was beating people bloody. In 1942 (I do not remember the month) I was at the market fair in Dukla and I saw Jozef L. beating people with a rubber truncheon, i.e. townspeople and women who refused to let their goods be taken away. Jozef L. as a German policeman, he took all goods from the Polish population, and brought them to the Gestapo headquarters in Dukla. I give the fact: that one woman beaten by L. was a citizen called Katarzyna C. living in Jasionka, in Krosno district, it was in 1943 at the market place in Dukla. Mentioned C. was beaten by Jozef L. because she did not want her goods (butter, milk and eggs) taken. Once, in 1942 or 1943, during a market fair in Dukla, Jozef L. took one Pole to the village of Leki, Krosno district and dressed him in the rabbi's robes, then gave him the book in his hand and told him to pray and nod at the same time, and when the aforementioned Pole refused to obey, he was beaten with a rubber truncheon. People who were in the square at that time were rounded up and made to watch and in this way he showed everyone what was coming their way. People from our village were witnesses [71] to this incident, including Janina B. who was now living in Ludwikowo. I mention that I witnessed how in 1942, Jozef L. encountered people in front of the dairy in Dukla, and beat them on their heads with a rubber truncheon, thus wanting to bring order to the dispensing of milk (...).

On August 13, 1942, the final liquidation of almost the entire Jewish population of Dukla and its vicinity took place. There are many descriptions of these tragic events. Let me start by presenting the account of a Ukrainian, the mayor of Dukla, Leon Bukatowicz: Yes, I was present in Dukla then. It was on August 12 or 13, 1942, at night. I was awakened by some Gestapo officer from Jasło, who ordered me to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for about two hundred people. I asked him what to prepare and he told me that for breakfast there must be bread, butter, eggs, milk, coffee and obligatory vodka, lunch and dinner should be also plentiful. I was instructed to prepare breakfast at 6 a.m. Knowing about the action already three days earlier, because I received special notices which I posted everywhere, i.e. the Catholic population is not allowed to join the Jews, it is forbidden to plunder Jewish property, and the Jews are not allowed to leave their place of residence. So there was no secret that the action would be carried out and the Jews themselves already sensed it. Then the Border Guard made a list to keep the necessary workers for themselves, two German companies, Emil Ludwig and Artur Walde, did the same, and I wanted to protect at least some people and I also wrote down all the craftsmen. At night, the town was surrounded by Gestapo from Jasło, headed by Rauschwitz, and at the same time border guards from the German military police and a unit of Ukrainians in black uniforms were there to help. All the Jews were ordered to gather at 7 a.m. in the area of the manor estate, which was carried out by the Jewish council. Once everyone was collected, I gave my list to the head of the Gestapo from Jasło, like the border guards and two German companies, in order to get chosen people to be left behind. They started sorting people left and right, the Ludwig and Walde company for themselves, the border guards the same, and for me only some craftsmen were left, but they were assigned to company camps because they were not allowed to live separately. Of these, among others, the tailor Guzik, who currently lives in Krosno, was allowed to stay in his apartment. Others were assigned to labor camps. At the same time, I saw that two Jews, the so-called Jewish policeman, Goldman, and another one, were [72] separated - they were probably Gestapo informers and tormented Jews in a terrible way. The sorted ones were loaded in cars and taken somewhere in the direction of Barwinek. As I heard later, they were shot somewhere there, but I did not see it, at the end, the two Jewish informers were shot. Others were taken to the Iwonicz station. The operation was carried out all day, then the Gestapo walked around the apartments for a few days, taking out the most valuable things and taking them. Question: Who from the population stole the remaining Jewish belongings and where were they stored? Answer: I do not know, everyone stole and the police got into these matters vigorously and several people were caught, whose names I do not remember anymore. They were kept in the market square tied with chains all day, but then released (...). Another account is that of Wojciech Szubrycht, appointed Mayor of Dukla in 1942 after the removal of Bukatowicz. As I recall, in July 1942, the Germans issued an order for Jews living in the neighboring villages, to liquidate their farms there and move to Dukla, and I believe that the Jewish police, Hilfspolizei, were to supervise the implementation of this order. After the concentration of Jews from the area in the town of Dukla, August 1942, I do not remember the exact date today, Dukla was surrounded by troops of the [collaborationist] Russian Liberation Army (aka the Vlasov Army). The Germans proceeded to eliminate the Jews after carrying out an appropriate selection. With the help of the Jewish police, who were keeping the Jews in the courtyard of the Tarnowski family farm in Dukla, which was properly fenced. During the selection, Jews were divided into three groups, the most numerous of which were older Jews who were not fit for work and women with children. The aforementioned group of around 2,700 people was transported by lorries to the Iwonicz railway station, where they were loaded onto railway carriages and then taken to Belzec. As far as I know, none of the deported returned from Belzec. The second group included Jews unable to transport, the sick and the Jewish intelligentsia. The Jews from the second group were transported by the Germans with several trucks to the Błuda forest, located within the vicinity of the village of Barwinek, where they were murdered and buried in a mass grave. Along with the second group Germans liquidated also Jewish policemen, who, as it was said, helped them undressing the Jews before the execution in the Błudna forest. The third group consisted of young Jews who were able to work, were placed in the ghetto organized in Dukla on Cergowska Street in several neighboring buildings, which were surrounded by barbed wire, where there was a guard by Germans armed with small arm [73] weapons. (…). And the last description of the extermination of Jews in Dukla and its vicinity, given by Nattel Adolf: August 13, 1942 the operation in Dukla. 2,200 Jews were in Dukla then - massed from the area. On that day, about 1,600 people were taken by cars to the Iwonicz station and from there to Belzec. 400 elderly people, as well as children, were taken by cars towards Barwinek near Tylawa close to the Slovak border. People were told to undress. The graves (1 or 2) were prepared the previous day by "Junaks" (a group of young Poles). A plank was placed at the mouth of the grave, the naked people were ordered to enter the plank individually or in two - the rest of the people watched from a distance of several dozen steps. Gestapo and Grenzschutz soldiers (Luber - Schmatzler, head of the Gestapo) shot at the people standing on the board. Two or three at a time were often shot to spare the number of bullets used. People who were shot but alive were thrown into the grave. In one case, a mother with two children aged 8 and 10 was placed on a board. The mother was shot and the living children were thrown into the grave. Ukrainians and peasants from the surrounding villages watched the executions from trees in the area. Some ran out of the wood in terror. At that time I was in Dukla, I belonged to a group of men selected for the camp, I myself was not a witness of the execution over the grave. I was told about it by the Polish forester living in Dukla.

This article describes the situation of Jewish inhabitants of Dukla during the Second Word War. It shows the events, reported by Poles, Jews and a Ukrainian, leading to the destruction of the Jewish population. It is not my intention to assess facts. I'm merely presenting them without unnecessary commentary. Available sources are poor, heterogeneous, with many versions. I was trying, as far as possible and according to data available to me, to show various points of view of these events left by Poles and Jews. [74]

[1] [Translator's note: The bracketed blue numbers correspond to where that page number as found in the original Polish article ends.]

[2] Action (Operation) Reinhard (from German Aktion Reinhard) [A.R.] was the code name of the operation carried out as part of the "final solution" of the Jewish question, the purpose of which - in accordance with the provisions of the Grossen Wannsee Conference - was the murder of 2,284,000 Jews, living in 5 districts of the General Government (and from the end of 1942 also in the Białystok district). The name of the operation probably comes from the name of the head of the RSHA responsible for it - Reinhard Heydrich. Preliminary preparations for A.R. began on the order of the Reichfurher SS Commissioner for the Strengthening of Germany, Heinrich Himmler in the fall of 1941. The commander of the SS and the police of the Lublin district, Odilo Globocnik, was entrusted with the command. The direct contractor was SS-Hauptstrumfuher Hans Hofle. Initially, Globocnik was commissioned to murder Jews by mass shooting executions, treating this method as an experiment. It turned out, however, that it was not very effective and had a depressing effect on the members of the firing squads. The A.R. Staff, based in Lublin, was then given tasks handed to Globocnik by word of mouth: to organize an extermination team Einsatz Reinhard; complete planning and coordination of the deportation of Jews from the ghettos; construction and operation of extermination centers; carrying out the extermination of Jews; [61] confiscation of real and personal property of the victims, and it transfer to the relevant institutions of the Reich. Local SS and police commanders, who were made responsible for the deportation of Jews in individual districts (action) and for the escorting the transports, were handed over all power over the ghetto population on June 3, 1942. To meet the needs of A.R. three Holocaust centers [extermination camps] were built from November 1941 to July 1942: Bekzec, Sobibor and Treblinka. Their location was determined by: the proximity of railway lines, location in an area isolated from large human settlements, and the proximity of areas previously occupied by the Soviets, which made the assurances about sending Jews to work "to the East" credible. Transports to the Holocaust centers received priority over other needs, among them in July 1942, on Himmler's orders, rolling stock to supply the army at Stalingrad. The completion of the action, scheduled for December 32, 1942, was postponed due to the needs of the war industry, which employied approximately 300,00 Jewish peple. These workers found themselves in residual ghettos and labor camps. A.R. started in mid-March 1942 and was completed in November 1943 with the shooting of Jews from the Majdanek, Poniatowa and Trawnicki camps as part of Operation Erntefast ["Operation Harvest Festival"], and overall took about 2 million victims. The personal property of the murdered, accumulated over hundreds of years of Jewish existence in the regions where they settled, caused a rivalry between the administration of the General Government and the SS, with each aspiring to steal the whole. Eventually, it was officially shared by: the Main Office of Economy and Administration of the SS, Ministry of Economy of the Third Reich, Wehrmacht and Volksdeutsche from the occupied countries, and unofficially by representatives of local German authorities.

[3] After the end of the war, J. L. emigrated to the lands recovered to the village of Chotkow. In 1948, the Municipal National Council in Dukla, at the request of his sister, Paulina L., issued an opinion on the following content, "L. Josef, while acting as a policeman during the occupation, blindly performed his work entrusted to him by the commissioner mayor, as a man without being educated, and in addition. mentally handicapped, he was not an initiator of his shameful deeds towards the Polish population. Knowing about the various pranks about to take place, he warned about the folly. "

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