Siedlce, Poland

General

Siedlce is a city in eastern Poland. Before the outbreak of World War II there were 15,000 Jews living in Siedlce. The German army entered the town on September. 11, 1939, and began to take measures against the Jews. In 1940, Jews from the surrounding areas were moved to Siedlce. In March 1941 German soldiers organized a three-day Aktion in which many Jews were killed. The following August a ghetto was set up, which was was closed off on October 1. On August 22, 1942, about 10,000 Jews were deported to the Treblinka death camp, where they were murdered. . On November 25, 1942, the ghetto was liquidated and its 2,000 Jewish inmates deported to Gesiborki.

Postcard

Below are thumbnails of the front and back of two postcards. The first is postmarked November 6, 1941, from the Judenrat in Siedlce to Relico in Switzerland. Relico (the acronym for the Relief Committee for the War-Stricken Jewish Population) was established in Geneva in September 1939 under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress. The postcard acknowledges receipt of 8 packages from Relico. The second is a poscard sent by the Judenrat in Siedliszcze to R. Abrahamer in Krakow, postmarked June, 1941. The card contains red violet Judenrat/ in Siedliszcze/ Kreis Cholm cachets on the front and back and an unidentified ORECZENIE 10 gr./ Gmina Zyd (Jewish District) cachet over the address and stamp (possibly a surcharge for mail to or from ghetto). Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Postcard" in the left frame to return.

References

Encyclopedia Judaica, CD-Rom Edition, Keter Publishing

Spector, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust (2001), P. 1176-78

Ghetto

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