weeks before the outbreak of war, the wojewoda of Pomerania had dissolved
the elected kehillah bodies following a complaint by the town ‘elite’ that the
Jewish community tax imposed upon them by the elected kehillah administration
was too heavy, and had appointed another administration). The commandant
therefore stressed in his decree that he recognised the disposition
made by the Polish wojewoda of Pomerania.¹⁰⁶⁵
[2] At the same time, he imposed on the Jewish population a levy of
100,000 zlotys, to be paid to him within three days,¹⁰⁶⁶ failing which several
dozen Jews would be shot. The pretext was that the Jewish population had
not received the arriving troops sympathetically. The Poles did not have to
pay such a levy because a delegation from the Polish population had indeed
gone out to welcome them with bread and salt... The levy was paid on time.
On the 23rd, which was the eve of Yom Kippur, no one went to pray, owing
to the oppressive atmosphere in the town. The synagogues remained shut.
Despite that, they were surrounded by the military, who broke the doors open
but, to their great disappointment, found no Jew inside! Then they started
searching private Jewish homes to see whether any prayer services were being
held there. In one place they found some congregants who were already leaving.
They were all arrested and ordered to dig a large pit in the courtyard. Then
six Jews were shot and thrown into the pit, still breathing, and the remainder
were forced to bury them.
On the 24th, both synagogues¹⁰⁶⁷ and the Maccabi sports hall were set on
fire and several dozen Jews were arrested on a charge of arson, but a few days
later they were released on condition that they signed a statement confessing
to having set fire to the synagogues and did not leave town. On the evening
of the 24th, 1,200 Jews were taken from their beds and, while being subjected
to horrendous torture, mostly physical, all 1,200 were taken to a concentration
camp. Very many of them did not survive the intense suffering and died
in terrible pain. The concentration camp was located outside town in the former
koszary,¹⁰⁶⁸ and they were held there as hostages in the most dreadful
1065 On 1 April 1938, Włocławek was excluded from the Warsaw voivodship and included in the Pomeranian one.
1066 The first levy was paid by 1 October 1939.
1067 The same events were described in Docs. 76, 77 and 79.
1068 (Polish) military barracks.
