75th Anniversary Of Kielce Massacre Marked – But Not By The Polish Government

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Despite the tensions between Israel and the Polish government over the new law barring Jews from appealing seizure of property by the government after 30 years, effectively ending claims for restitution by survivors, Polish Jews will still mark the 75th anniversary Kielce massacre, which falls on Sunday, July 4th. The ceremony will be directed by Polish chief rabbi Michael Schodrich but will not have any government representation. The gathering is expected to march from the cemetery where the victims were buried to the site of the massacre on Planty street.

The Kielce massacre took place on July 4th 1946. The reason for the attack was the disappearance of the Polish boy Henryk Blaszcz, who disappeared on July 1, 1946. His father reported this to the police. On July 3, the child returned home. But in the city there was already a rumor about the ritual murder that the Jews had committed. On the night of July 4, the father of the child again appeared at the police station and said that his son had been abducted by Jews and kept in a basement, from where he fled. Later, the investigation found out that the boy was sent to relatives in the village and taught what to say.

On the morning of July 4, a police patrol, around which a large excited crowd quickly gathered, went to house No. 7 on Planty street, where some 200 survivors of the 20,000 strong community had congregated. At about 10 o’clock, units of the Polish Army and State Security arrived at the house, but they did nothing to calm the crowd.

The crowd was furious and shouted: “Death to the Jews!”, “Death to the murderers of our children!”, “Let’s finish Hitler’s work!”

The district attorney Jan Wrzeszcz arrived at the scene, but the military prevented him from going through. Two priests tried to calm the people down, but they were also thwarted. By lunchtime, the crowd finally became brutal and began lynching. And in the forefront were soldiers. The thugs broke into the house and began to beat and kill people. The pogrom spread to the entire city. Only a few hours later the troops put things in order. The surviving Jews were taken to the commandant’s office, to the hospitals, where the wounded were brought, and guards were posted. In the evening, additional troops arrived in the city, a curfew was imposed. The next day, the Jews were taken to Warsaw.

As a result, 42 Jews died, including children and pregnant women, more than 80 people were injured. Many died from gunshot wounds or were killed with bayonets. Several Poles were also killed, either mistaken for Jews or trying to protect their Jewish neighbors.

Modern Poland has refused to take responsibility for Poland’s part in the Holocaust, going as far as prohibiting mention of the Polish Holocaust. The concept of collaborators, murderers and informers is simply ignored in an attempt to rewrite history. The current government has a hard time dealing with events like the Kielce massacre which do not correspond to its narrative of a victimized Poland helpless to save the Jews being murdered by Nazis and this explains the lack of government representation at the ceremony.