Skarżysko-Kamienna⁷⁰³
In Skarżysko there is a large arms factory catering for the wartime needs
of Germany.⁷⁰⁴ This April and May all the Polish workers employed at the
plant were deported to the Reich by the Germans, [8] who then brought Jewish
replacements (approximately 3,800 people) from the neighbouring towns,
both small and larger ones. The camp has recently been enlarged. The number
of prisoners of the camp is expected to reach 5,000. The camp is strictly
isolated, while the many escape attempts have resulted in the escapees’
execution.⁷⁰⁵
Janów Podlaski⁷⁰⁶
The economic situation of the Jews is very difficult because they cannot leave
the town and go to the countryside, as capture on the suburban roads is punishable
with death. The Hitlerite terror has recently intensified. A former
Polish policeman, Andrzejczuk, is their zealous helper. It was because of him
that the Germans executed 10 Jews, purportedly communists, in early June.
On Monday, 8 June, a rumour spread in town that a deportation of Jews would
begin. Sheer panic broke out among the Jewish population and many fled on
their own from the town. As the rumour was groundless, the Hitlerites dealt
summarily with the escapees on suburban roads.⁷⁰⁷
Kowel
The situation of the Jews in Kowel had been almost bearable until mid-
May this year. On 27 May, 2 ghettos were established in Kowel. Craftsmen
(4,000 people) were put in the first one and the unemployed (up to 10,000 people)
in the other. On 1 June the Gestapo functionaries executed all members
of the Judenrat, while unemployed Jews were ordered to assemble on Brzeski
Square. 8,000 Jews assembled. Several dozen were murdered on the spot by the
Gestapo functionaries, while those who remained were rushed by the oppressors
to the village of Bachów,⁷⁰⁸ where they were all executed. The corpses were
703 Skarżysko-Kamienna (Kielce County).
704 It was a part of the Hugo Schneider Aktiengesellschaft (HASAG) concern.
705 Cf. Krzysztof Gibaszewski, HASAG. Historia obozu pracy przymusowej w Skarżysku-Kamiennej (Skarżysko-Kamienna, 2011).
706 Janów Podlaski (Biała Podlaska County).
707 See Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, pp. 643–645.
708 Bachów (Kowel County, now in Ukraine).
