village of Grójec — Kalików[?].⁹⁰² The Jewish population managed to save very
few of its possessions. Under a hail of blows, they left for the above-mentioned
village. Not a single Jew remained in the shtetl.
On arriving in the village, they discovered that the same fate had befallen
all the Jews of the whole Konin County. The entire Jewish population of the
towns of Konin, Golina,⁹⁰³ Pyzdry,⁹⁰⁴ Kleczew, Skulsk,⁹⁰⁵ and others, had been
expelled to the above-mentioned village and neighbouring villages.
[3] Some of the Jews from the aforementioned towns were sent to
Zagórów.
The attitude of the peasants towards the expelled Jews was generally
very good. They rented them all the unoccupied dwellings, stables, closets
and stodoły.⁹⁰⁶
The refugees began to come to terms with their lot, as best as they could.
Rent and food were relatively cheap, and the Jews began to settle in. They lived
quite contentedly in the aforementioned villages for more than half a year.
One day, a large number of carts with gendarmes arrived in the villages.
Before long an order came for the sick and the wives of the expelled Jews to
get onto the carts and for the men to march on foot.
The Jews had no idea where they were being taken, but on the way it
became clear that they were being led to the railway station in Konin.
At the Konin station, the Jews were packed into closed freight cars.
The train moved off. The Jews didn’t know where they were going.
For three whole days they travelled this way and that in the locked
cars, without food or drink. On the fourth day they arrived at Łódź railway
station. There they were let out of the cars, and a stringent search was
conducted. All the Jews — men, women and children — were thoroughly
searched, and everything they had on them was taken away: money, clothes,
bedding and other items.
Immediately after the search they were packed back into the cars, and
the train moved off in an unknown direction.
902 Grodziec — Królików, two villages 6–7 km southwest of Rychwał. The resettlement referred to by the author was carried out in November.
903 Golina (Konin County).
904 Pyzdry (Września County).
905 Kleczew, Skulsk (Konin County).
906 (Polish) barns.
