- Prewar Jewish population
- about 3.3 million
- Murdered
- about three million Polish Jews
Jewish life before 1939
About 3.3 million Jews lived within Poland’s September 1939 borders. Jewish life was religiously, linguistically and politically diverse, from major cities to thousands of smaller towns.
Occupation and persecution
Germany invaded on 1 September 1939 and the Soviet Union from the east on 17 September. German rule brought forced labor, property confiscation, ghettos, starvation, shootings and deportation.
Mass murder
Operation Reinhard murdered Jews principally at Bełżec, Sobibór and Treblinka; Jews from annexed western Poland were also deported to Chełmno and Auschwitz-Birkenau, while many communities were destroyed in local shootings.
Resistance and rescue
Resistance included ŻOB, ŻZW, ghetto uprisings, partisans, documentation and escape. Rescue included Jewish self-help, hiding networks, Żegota and other assistance, alongside denunciation and blackmail.
After 1945
Postwar history included border changes, family searches, property conflicts, antisemitic violence including Kielce, emigration and changing memory.
Sources
This page draws on the institutional sources listed below.