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Memorial plaque at the Planty 7 house founded in 1990 by the Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa

The Kielce pogrom refers to the events that occurred on July 4, 1946, in the Polish town of Kielce (pop. 50,000). The outbreak of the anti-Jewish violence, sparked by blood libel, resulted in 37 Polish Jews being murdered out of about 200 Holocaust survivors who had returned home after World War II. Two more Jews in the trains passing through Kielce also lost their lives. Two or three Gentile Poles were killed by the Jews defending themselves, while nine were sentenced to death later. Image File history File links Acap. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Solidarity (Polish: ; full name: Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity — Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy Solidarność) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the then Lenin Shipyards, and originally led by Lech Wałęsa. ... Wałęsa redirects here. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of the centre of Kielce Monastery Exbud headquarters-symbol of todays Kielce City The monument to commemorate of tragedy in New York 11 September 2001 Bishops Palace Building of Stefan Żeromski Theatre The new stadium in Kielce Bus Station in Kielce of characterisic shape of alien saucer Kielce... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Blood libels are unfounded allegations that a particular group eats people as a form of human sacrifice, often accompanied by the claim of using the blood of their victims in various rituals. ... From the Middle Ages until the Holocaust, Jews were a significant part of the Polish population. ... For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The word gentile is an anglicised version of the Latin word gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe. ... You may also be looking for the plural of the word pole. ...

While far from the deadliest pogrom against the Jews, the incident was especially significant in post-war Jewish history, as the attack took place fourteen months after the end of World War II, shocking the Jews in Poland and the international community. Pogrom (from Russian: ; from громить IPA: - to wreak havoc, to demolish violently) is a form of riot directed against a particular group, whether ethnic, religious or other, and characterized by destruction of their homes, businesses and religious centres. ... Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith, and culture. ...

The pogrom

Background

The house at Planty 7 in 2006

During the German occupation of Poland, Kielce was entirely ethnically cleansed of its Jewish population. By the summer of 1946, some two hundred Jews, many of them former residents of Kielce, lived there after returning from the Nazi concentration camps and from their hiding places. About 160 of them were quartered in a single building administered by the Jewish Committee of Kielce Voivodeship at 7 Planty Street.^[1] Among them were former prisoners of concentration camps as well as some relatively rich Soviet Jews on their way to Palestine. For the video game, see Ethnic Cleansing (computer game). ... See also the related List of German concentration camps Concentration camp in Nazi Germany. ... Kielce Voivodeship (1) (Polish: województwo kieleckie) - a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975-1998, superseded by Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. ... Historical background As waves of anti-Jewish pogroms and expulsions from the countries of Western Europe marked the last centuries of the Middle Ages, a sizable portion of the Jewish populations there moved to the more tolerant countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Middle East. ... A 2003 satellite image of the region. ...

Planty is a small street in the center of the town, and it ran perpendicular to the main streets in which were the regional headquarters of the Milicja Obywatelska (Communist police) and the armed forces. In the same house, another entry, also lived the local officers of the Polish secret police. Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are concentrated. ... Militsiya (Russian: мили́ция; Ukrainian: міліція; Romanian: Miliţia; literally Militia) was the generic name for the police in the Soviet Union and a few other Communist countries. ... This article is about secret police as organizations. ...

Blood libel

On July 1, 1946, an eight-year old Polish boy, Henryk Błaszczyk, was reported missing by his father Walenty. Two days later, the boy, his father and one of their neighbors went to a local police station where Henryk falsely claimed that he had been kidnapped by Jews (years later, shortly before his death in 1990s, he said he was told to lie by his father and the men from the secret police^[2]). Henryk accused the Jews of killing children for their blood and keeping the bodies in the cellar of the Kibbutz (Jewish socialist collective community) on Planty Street, among other alleged horrors. is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A typical suburban police station in the United States (this one is in San Bruno, California). ... Blood libels are the accusations that Jews use human blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals. ... Kibbutz Merom Golan as seen from Bental mountain A Kibbutz (Hebrew: Translit. ... Labor Zionism (or Socialist Zionism, Labour Zionism) is the traditional left wing of the Zionist ideology and was historically oriented towards the Jewish workers movement. ...

A patrol of 14 uniformed and plainclothed policemen was dispatched to the Jewish house by the station's new police chief Edmund Zagórski. On their way they were spreading rumours regarding the alleged kidnapping, and were joined by several groups of about 100 soldiers and officers from various units and formations (Polish People's Army, Internal Security Corps, Main Directorate of Information) and some more policemen. The false news of the Jewish religious atrocities spread among the gentile civilians in Kielce, and resulted in a gathering at first some 120 people outside the Jewish residence in anticipation of a search for bodies of Christian children. Chief of Police in United States usage is the title typically given to the head of a police department. ... Armia Ludowa (AL, pronounced ; English Polish Peoples Army) was a Polish World War II resistance organisation. ... The word gentile is an anglicised version of the Latin word gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is...

By 9 a.m., uniformed policemen and soldiers, as well as several mostly plainclothed officers of the Ministry of Public Security (UBP), broke down the doors and entered the building. They began to disarm the inhabitants, who had permits from the authorities to bear arms for self defense. One Jewish man, described by Henryk, was arrested and beaten by the police, while Dr. Seweryn Kahane, head of the local Jewish Committee, tried to convince them of their mistake, pointing out that the building had no basement. At this point the house was surrounded by security forces, with the civilian crowd standing about 100 m away, towards Piotrkowska street. Ministry of Public Security of Poland (Polish: ) was the organ established and controlled by Soviet Union officers to provide collaborationist government in Poland with secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage services from 1945 to 1954. ... For the legal usage, see Right of self-defense. ...

Killings

By 10 a.m. the first shot had been fired - it is unclear by whom: a policeman, a soldier, or one of the Jews. Violence broke out and in the confusion the servicemen began killing Jews. Dr. Kahane was shot in the back of head and killed while he was trying to call the authorities for help (survivors witnessed that he was shot by an officer of military intelligence). At least two and possibly three Poles, including a police officer, were killed as the Jews tried to defend themselves (according to the official version at the time, they were killed while trying to defend the Jews). After the attack inside the building, more Jews were then forced outside by the soldiers and attacked by the mob on the street. Some of the victimes were thrown out of windows, including one reportedly thrown on the risen bayonets. Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. ... For other uses, see bayonet (disambiguation). ...

By noon, the arrival of an estimated 600 to 1,000 workers (led by the members of the paramilitary ORMO reserve police and activists of the Polish Workers' Party's militia) from the nearby Ludwików steel mill marked the beginning of the next phase of the pogrom, during which about 20 Jews lost their lives killed in a cruel fashion, mostly by a steelworks tools. Neither the military and secret police commanders, nor the local political leaders from the Workers' Party did anything to stop the workers from attacking Jews. A unit of cadets from the nearby police school joined in the looting and murdering of the Jews, which continued inside and outside the building. Paramilitary designates forces whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force, but which are not regarded as having the same status. ... Reserve can mean several things; 1. ... The Polish Workers Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. ... Lebanese Kataeb militia The term Militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary [1] citizens to provide defense, emergency, law enforcement, or paramilitary service, and those engaged in such activity, without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. ... Steel Mill was one of Bruce Springsteens early bands and performed regularly on the Jersey Shore, in Virginia, and also in California from 1969 till January 1971. ... A cadet is a future officer in the military. ... Looting (which derives via the Hindi lut from Sanskrit lung, to rob), sacking, plundering, or pillaging is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war,[1] natural disaster,[2] or rioting. ...

The killing of Jews at Planty Street was stopped with the arrival of new unit of security forces from a nearby Public Security academy sent by Colonel Stanisław Kupsza and the additional troops from Warsaw at approximately 6 p.m. After firing few warning shots in the air, on the order of officer identified only as Major Konieczny, they quickly restored order, posted guards, and removed all the Jewish survivors from the building. For other uses, see Colonel (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Warsaw (disambiguation) and Warszawa (disambiguation). ... A warning shot (in nautical terms, often a shot across the bow) is a harmless artillery shot intended to call attention. ... Major is a military rank the use of which varies according to country. ...

The violence in Kielce, however, did not stop immediately. Wounded Jews, while being transported to the hospital, were beaten and robbed by soldiers.^[3] Trains passing through the Kielce's main railway station were searched for the Jews by civilians and railway guards, resulting in two passengers thrown out of the trains and killed. Later, a civilian crowd approached the hospital and demanded that the wounded Jews be handed over to them. The civil disorder ended some nine hours after it started.^[4] Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street Station in 1865. ...

The aftermath

Trials

Between July 9 and July 11, 1946, twelve among the alleged pogrom's civilian perpetrators, one of them apparently mentally challenged, were arrested by the UBP officers led by Adam Humer. They were tried by the Supreme Military Court in a Stalinist show trial.^{[citation needed]} Nine of them were sentenced to death and executed by the firing squad the very next day by the order of Bolesław Bierut. The remaining three received prison terms ranging from seven years to life. is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In times of armed conflict a civilian is any person who is not a combatant. ... What constitutes a military tribunal varies according to nation and sometimes even military branch and regional jurisdiction. ... For architecture, see Stalinist architecture. ... The term show trial serves most commonly to label a type of public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the accused: the actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as an impressive example and... Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, especially in times of war. ... BolesÅ‚aw Bierut (real name BolesÅ‚aw Rotenschwanz, April 18, 1892–March 12, 1956) was a Polish-born Communist leader, a Stalinist who became President of Poland after the Soviet occupation of the country in the aftermath of World War II. // Damaged monument to Bierut formerly standing in Lublin, 2007...

In addition to the city's police chief Wiktor Kuźnicki, sentenced to one year for "failing to stop the crowd" (he died in 1947), only one police officer was punished, the crime being the theft of shoes from a dead body. The regional State Security commander Władysław Sobczyński and his men were cleared of any wrongdoing.

Effects on the Jewish emigration from Poland

The brutality of the Kielce pogrom put an end to the hopes of many Jews that they would be able to resettle in Poland after the end of the Nazi Germany occupation. In the words of Bożena Szaynok, a historian at Wrocław University: Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The main building of WrocÅ‚aw University, seen from the University bridge (Most Uniwersytecki) spanning the Oder River. ...

Jewish Holocaust survivors awaiting transportation to the British Mandate of Palestine

Until July 4, 1946, Polish Jews cited the past as their main reason for emigration. After the Kielce pogrom, the situation changed drastically. Both Jewish and Polish reports spoke of an atmosphere of panic among Jewish society in the summer of 1946. Jews no longer believed that they could be safe in Poland. Despite the large militia and army presence in the town of Kielce, Jews had been murdered there in cold blood, in public, and for a period of more than five hours. The news that the militia and the army had taken part in the pogrom spread as well. From July 1945 until June 1946, about fifty thousand Jews passed the Polish border illegally. In July 1946, almost twenty thousand decided to leave Poland. In August 1946 the number increased to thirty thousand. In September 1946, twelve thousand Jews left Poland.^[3]

Many of these Jews were smuggled out illegally by the Berihah (Escape) organization. Image File history File links Survivors of the Kielce pogrom in 1946 awaiting transportation to the Mandate of Palestine. ... Image File history File links Survivors of the Kielce pogrom in 1946 awaiting transportation to the Mandate of Palestine. ... Flag The approximate borders of the British Mandate circa 1922. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Berihah (literally escape in Hebrew) was the organized effort to help Jews escape post-Holocaust Europe for the British Mandate of Palestine. ...

The official reaction to the pogrom was described by Anita Prazmowska in Cold War History, Vol. 2, No. 2: Anita J. Prazmowska is a professor and a Senior Lecturer in International History at the London School of Economics. ...

Nine participants in the pogrom were sentenced to death; three were given lengthy prison sentences. Policemen, military men, and functionaries of the UBP were tried separately and then unexpectedly all, with the exception of Wiktor Kuznicki, Commander of the MO, who was sentenced to one year in prison, were found not guilty of "having taken no action to stop the crowd from committing crimes." Clearly, during the period when the first investigations were launched and the trial, a most likely politically motivated decision had been made not to proceed with disciplinary action. This was in spite of very disturbing evidence that emerged during the pre-trial interviews. It is entirely feasible that instructions not to punish the MO and UBP commanders had been given because of the politically sensitive nature of the evidence. Evidence heard by the military prosecutor revealed major organizational and ideological weaknesses within these two security services..^[5]

Reaction of the Catholic Church

Six months prior to the Kielce pogrom, during the Hanukkah celebration, a hand grenade had been thrown into the local Jewish community headquarters. The Jewish Community Council had approached the Bishop of Kielce, Czesław Kaczmarek, requesting him to admonish the Polish population to refrain from attacking the Jews. The Bishop refused this request, replying that "as long as the Jews concentrated upon their private business Poland was interested in them, but at the point when Jews began to interfere in Polish politics and public life they insulted the Poles’ national sensibilities." Therefore, according to the Bishop, it was not surprising that the local population had acted violently.^[6] Similar comments were made by bishop of Lublin Stefan Wyszyński when he was approached by the Jewish delegation. Wyszyński stated that the popular hatred of Jews was caused by Jewish support for Communism, which had also been the reason why "the Germans murdered the Jewish nation". Wyszyński also gave some credence to blood libel rumours commenting that the question of the use of Christian blood was never completely clarified.^[7] Grand Rabbi Israel Abraham Portugal of Skulen Hasidism lighting Hanukkah lights Hanukkah (‎, also spelled Chanukah or Hanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday beginning on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may fall anytime from late November to... Grenade redirects here. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article... Stefan Cardinal WyszyÅ„ski His Eminence Stefan Cardinal WyszyÅ„ski (3 August 1901 - 28 May 1981) was a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

Controversial reaction of Polish Catholic Church to violence against Jews was a subject of criticism by American, British, and Italian ambassadors to Poland. Reports on Kielce pogrom caused major sensation in the United States, leading the American ambassador to Poland to insist that Cardinal August Hlond hold a press conference and explain the position of the church. In the conference held on July 11, 1946, Cardinal Hlond condemned the murders, but attributed them not to racial causes but to rumour concerning killing of Polish children by Jews. Hlond also put a blame for deterioration in Polish-Jewish relations on the Jews "occupying leading positions in Poland in state life". This position was echoed by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha who was reported to have said the Jews brought it on themselves, and by Polish rural clergy.^[8] The Polish Catholic Church was founded by missionaries of the American-founded Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) who returned to their ancestral country. ... For other uses, see Cardinal (disambiguation). ... August Hlond August Hlond (1888-1948), was since 1926 Archbishop of Gniezno and Poznan and primate (highest ranking church official) in Poland, since 1946 Archbishop of Warsaw. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Noble Family Sapieha Coat of Arms Lis Parents Adam Stanisław Sapieha Jadwiga Klementyna Sanguszko Consorts none Children none Date of Birth May 14, 1867 Place of Birth Krasiczyn Date of Death July 23, 1951 Place of Death Kraków Prince Adam Stefan Stanisław Bonifacy Józef Sapieha (1867-1951) was a Polish... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ...

On September 14, 1946, Pope Pius XII gave audience to Rabbi Phillip Bernstein, the advisor on Jewish affairs to the U.S. European theater of operations. Bernstein asked the Pope to condemn the pogroms, but the Pope claimed that it was difficult to communicate with the Church in Poland because of the Iron Curtain.^[9] is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pope Pius XII (Latin: ), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (March 2, 1876 – October 9, 1958), reigned as the 260th pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, from March 2, 1939 until his death. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy. ... The European Theater of Operations, or ETO, was the term used by the United States in World War II to refer to most United States military activity in Europe north of the Mediterranean coast. ... Warsaw Pact countries to the east of the Iron Curtain are shaded red; NATO members to the west of it — blue. ...

Speculations over the Soviet involvement

The Kielce pogrom has been a difficult subject in Polish history for many years, and there is still confusion over blame. While it is beyond doubt that a mob (consisting of the gentile inhabitants of Kielce including members of the communist militsiya and army), carried out the pogrom, there has been considerable controversy over the possible outside inspiration for the events. A hypothesis that the event was provoked, or inspired, by the Soviet intelligence appeared immediately in Poland and a number of such scenarios are still offered. A member of a Russian special purpose police team (OMSN), equipped with a 9A91 submachine gun. ... For the country-specific law, see provocation in English law. ... The Soviet Union had a succession of secret police agencies over the course of its existence. ...

In modern historical works, for instance by Tadeusz Piotrowski,^[10] by Abel Kainer,^[11] or by Jan Śledzianowski^[12] allegations are made, that the events were part of a much wider action organized by the Soviet intelligence in countries controlled by the Soviet Union (very similar pogrom took place in Hungary), and that Soviet-dominated agencies like the UBP were used in the preparation of the Kielce pogrom. Presence of Polish and Soviet communist commanders at the place of pogrom was confirmed by witnesses - e.g. Natan Shpilevoi (Soviet "advisor"), Kupsza (commander of the pacification squads), Mikhail Diomin (high-rank GRU officer for special actions). It was also uncommon behavior that the numerous soldiers from security formations were present at the place and did not prevent "mob" from gathering, while even gathering of five people was considered suspicious and immediately controlled these times.^[13] Tadeusz Piotrowski can refer to: Tadeusz Piotrowski (mountaineer). ... For other uses, see GRU (disambiguation). ...

In common with many conspiracy theories, such explanations are based on circumstantial evidence such as cui bono reasoning, and attempt to show that the communist government or other groups or forces would have gained various political benefits from the pogrom and thus could have inspired it. No solid, direct evidence of such outside provocation exists and it's unlikely that it will because all documentation was intentionally destroyed by communist security services (most in 1989). It's also pointed out that even if such a provocation were to be demonstrated, the participants in the pogrom would still bear the moral responsibility for having succumbed to it. A conspiracy theory is a theory that defies common historical or current understanding of events, under the claim that those events are the result of manipulations by two or more individuals or various secretive powers or conspiracies. ... Circumstantial evidence is lesbian sex with a huge glass dildo unrelated facts that, when considered together, can be used to infer a conclusion about something unknown. ... Cui bono (Good for whom, or Who obtains a benefit) is a latin adage used in criminal investigation. ...

One line of argument that implies external inspiration goes as follows:^[14] The 1946 referendum showed that the communist plans met with little support, with less than a third of the Polish population. Only vote rigging won them a majority in the carefully controlled poll. Hence, it has been alleged that the UBP organized the pogrom to distract the western media's attention from the fabricated referendum. Another element of distraction was the upcoming ruling in the Katyń Massacre in the Nuremberg Trials, from which the communists tried to turn international attention away, placing Poles in an unfavorable spotlight. The massacre happened on 4 July, exactly the same day when Katyń case started in Nuremberg. Peoples referendum (referendum ludowe) of 1946, also know as 3 times YES (3 razy TAK) was a referendum held in Poland on 30 June 1946 on the authority of State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa) (order of 27 April 1946). ... Photo taken in 1943, during the Nazi German exhumations of the Polish dead from the Katyn forest sites. ... For the 1947 Soviet film about the trials, see Nuremberg Trials (film). ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

On the other hand, a highly-debated sociologist and contemporary historian, Jan T. Gross, blames the massacre on Polish hostility to the Jews.^[15] However, Gross's most recent book, Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland after Auschwitz, offers a somewhat different and more nuanced interpretation. Gross claims that "the complicity of gentile Poles in the Holocaust" combined with demands for the return of Jewish property confiscated during World War II created a climate of "fear" that pushed Poles to commit violence against Jews. He thus argues against any notion that it was a "provocation," or that the alleged cooperation of Jews with communism, an enduring and powerful stereotype of anti-Semitism in the Central Europe and particularly in Poland (known in Polish as Żydokomuna, or "Judeo-Communism"), caused the violent anti-Semitism that exploded in Poland after 1945. At the same time, Polish communist structures were formerly "cleansed" from Jews even before the war by the same people who later participated in anti-Semitic events in Kielce (Władysław Sobczyński) and in March 1968 (Mieczysław Moczar). Jan Tomasz Gross (born December 8, 1947 in Warsaw)- a controversial Polish-American historian of Jewish origin. ... Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the Visegrád Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Å»ydokomuna (Polish neologism for Jewish communism) is a pejorative term used to express the conspiracy theory that Communism in Poland was supported by Jews to a much greater extent than by the Gentile Polish population. ... MieczysÅ‚aw Moczar (original name MikoÅ‚aj Demko, pseudonym Mietek, born December 25, 1913 in Łódź - died November 1, 1986) was a Polish communist who played a prominent role in the history of the Polish Peoples Republic. ...

The opinion that the Soviets arranged the massacre in order to discredit the Poles in the eyes of the world remains common in Poland to this day, despite a thorough investigation that did not discover any evidence in support of this version and the formal apology for the massacre that was issued by the Polish government. A stance that maintains the foreign responsibility for such a disturbing event (similar to the version that the Germans rather than the Poles were responsible for the war-time Jedwabne pogrom) is ill regarded by some Jewish groups who view it as evidence of the lack of determination in Polish society to confront and address the anti-Semitism in Poland.^[16] The Jedwabne Pogrom (or Jedwabne Massacre) was a massacre of Jewish people living in and near the town of Jedwabne in Poland that occurred during World War II, in July 1941. ...

Recent events

IPN investigation

In recent years, the Kielce pogrom and the role of the Poles in the massacre are openly discussed in Poland. A formal investigation of the pogrom conducted by Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) since 1990, finished inconclusively in 2004, as it did not find sufficient evidence to charge any specific living individual with crimes committed during the pogrom. However, the timeline of events on that fateful day is well established.^[17] In course of the investigation IPN dismissed the theory of Soviet inspiration because of "lack of direct evidence and lack of obvious Soviet interest in provoking the events".^[18] Institute of National Remembrance (Polish: ; IPN) is a Polish institution created by the IPN Act in 18 December 1998. ...

Pogrom monument

A monument by New York-based artist Jack Sal entitled White/Wash II commemorating the victims was dedicated on July 4, 2006, in Kielce, at the 60th anniversary of the pogrom. At the dedication ceremony a statement from the President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński condemned the events as a "crime and a great shame and tragedy for the Poles and the Jews". The presidential statement asserted that today's democratic Poland had "no room for racism" and brushed off any generalizations of the anti-Semitic image over the Polish nation as the "stereotype".^[16] For other uses, see Monument (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An anniversary (from the Latin anniversarius, from the words for year and to turn, meaning (re)turning yearly; known in English since c. ... Flag of the President of Poland The President of the Republic of Poland (Polish: Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is directly elected by the people to serve a term of five years. ...  , IPA: [] (born June 18, 1949) is the President of the Republic of Poland and a politician of the conservative party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice, PiS.) KaczyÅ„ski served as President of Warsaw from 2002 until December 22, 2005, the day before his presidential inauguration. ... For other uses, see Democracy (disambiguation) and Democratic Party. ... Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Ethnocracy Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial quota... For other uses, see Stereotype (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Kielce pogrom (1918)
• Kraków pogrom
• September 24, 1945 Topoľčany Pogrom (Slovakia)^[19]
• May 21, 1946 Miskolc Pogrom (Hungary)^[20]

The Kraków pogrom refers to the events that occurred on August 11, 1945, in the city of Kraków, Poland, which resulted in one dead and five wounded victims. ... is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ... Tadeusz Piotrowski can refer to: Tadeusz Piotrowski (mountaineer). ... This article is about the state-related university. ... Jan Tomasz Gross (born December 8, 1947 in Warsaw)- a controversial Polish-American historian of Jewish origin. ... The Scotsmans offices in Edinburgh The Scotsman is a Scottish national newspaper, published in Edinburgh. ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Location of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in Hungary Kunmadaras is a village in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. ... Magyar Nemzet is a major Hungarian newspaper. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

Further reading

1. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz (2003). After the Holocaust. East European Monographs. ISBN 0-88033-511-4. 
2. Jan Śledzianowski (1998). Pytania nad pogromem kieleckim. Kielce: Jedność. ISBN 83-7224-057-4. 
3. Bożena Szaynok, Ryszard Śmietanka-Kruszelnicki, Jan Żaryn, Jacek Żurek (2006). in Łukasz Kamiński, Jan Żaryn: Wokół pogromu kieleckiego. Warszawa: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej. ISBN 83-60464-07-3. 
4. Jan T. Gross (2002). Revolution from Abroad: The Soviet Conquest of Poland's Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09603-1. 
5. Jan T. Gross (2006). Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland after Auschwitz: An Essay in Historical Interpretation. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-12878-2. 

Marek Jan Chodakiewicz (born in 1962 in Warsaw, Poland) is an American historian specializing in East Central European history of the 19th and 20th century. ... Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (IPN, Institute of National Remembrance) is a Polish institution created by the IPN Act in 18 December 1998. ... Jan Tomasz Gross (born December 8, 1947 in Warsaw)- a controversial Polish-American historian of Jewish origin. ... The Princeton University Press is a publishing house, a division of Princeton University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ... Jan Tomasz Gross (born December 8, 1947 in Warsaw)- a controversial Polish-American historian of Jewish origin. ... The Princeton University Press is a publishing house, a division of Princeton University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ...

External links

• The Jewish Pogrom in Kielce, July 1946 by Bożena Szaynok
• The Pogrom in Kielce
• The Truth about Kielce by Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski, arguing that the Soviets were responsible for the pogrom