Kielce cemetery massacre

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The Kielce cemetery massacre was carried out by Nazi German police on May 23, 1943, in occupied Poland during World War II. Forty-five Jewish children, who had survived the Kielce ghetto liquidation and were living with their working parents in Kielce’s forced-labor camps, were rounded up and brought to Pakosz cemetery in Kielce, where they were killed by German police. The children ranged from 15 months to 15 years old.

The liquidation of the ghetto began on August 20, 1942. About 20,000–21,000 Jews were sent to death trains and taken to Treblinka. By August 24, 1942, only about 2,000 skilled workers remained in the Kielce labor camp on Stolarska and Jasna Streets, including members of the Judenrat and Jewish policemen. In May 1943, most Kielce prisoners were moved to forced-labor camps in Starachowice, Skarżysko-Kamienna, Pionki, and Bliżyn. The 45 children murdered at the cemetery were the ones who stayed behind when their camp was liquidated.