The ghetto in Biala Podlaska – the tragic end of the Biała Podlaska Jewish community

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine the history of the Jewish community in the city of Biała Podlaska during World War II. Material and methods:The paper uses regional literature, including printed sources and copies of typescripts, monographs of the city and publications concerning the holocaust in the Biała Podlaska commune. It also refers to audio and video content available onlinememories of Polish witnesses and a small group of Jewish survivors. Results: The author described the history of the Jewish community in Biała Podlaska during World War II. The paper contains an overview of repression methods used by the Germans, a description of particularly notorious criminals and characteristics of the attitude of the local Polish population. Conclusions: The last three years in the around 300-year history of the Jewish community in Biała Podlaska, particularly 1942, were tragic. The Nazi occupants deprived the Jews of their estate and dignity, forced them to work and eventually took their lives away. During their rule, they deported 8,000 Jews to German Nazi extermination camps and killed 6,000 in the city. In 1945, only 60 Jews remained in Biała Podlaska.