Soil

Prewar antisemitism in Poland was shaped by religious prejudice, ethnic nationalism, and economic competition. Jews were often portrayed as outsiders and blamed for social or economic problems. In the interwar period, some nationalist groups promoted boycotts of Jewish businesses and supported restrictions on Jewish access to universities and certain professions. Although attitudes towards Jews varied, antisemitic stereotypes were widespread before the Second World War. During the Holocaust, Nazi Germany and its collaborators murdered approximately three million Polish Jews, destroying one of the largest Jewish communities in the world.

Critical Circumstances: Post-war antisemitism and local conditions in Kielce

Across Poland, Jews who returned after the war to reclaim homes, workshops, and businesses that were now occupied by others, encountered widespread resentment. This was fuelled by the ‘żydokomuna’ myth – the belief that Jews controlled the new communist authorities It mixed anti-Jewish prejudices from before the war with political frustrations that emerged after the war. Rumours of Jewish ritual kidnapping had already surfaced in several Polish towns. Kielce, which was once home to around 24,000 Jews (about a third of the population), was especially vulnerable: by the summer of 1946, only around 200 survivors had returned, 150–180 of whom lived together at 7 Planty Street.

Spark: The accusation and the state’s first response

On 1 July 1946, eight-year-old Henryk Błaszczyk left home without telling his parents. When he returned two days later, he told the militia that Jews had held him in a cellar at 7 Planty Street, under pressure from his father. A patrol was sent to the building, and, en route, the officers reportedly spread the word that they were searching for murdered children.

A crowd began to gather. Meanwhile, the authorities fought over jurisdiction: one patrol was sent to disperse the crowd, while the head of the Voivodeship Office of Public Security ordered the militiamen to withdraw, deeming the matter political. The first army unit to arrive had no clear instructions and remained passive while stones were thrown at the windows.

Note that several state forces were involved:

  • the militia (which acted as the police); called militia officers
  • the Public Security Office (state service that arrested and punished people who opposed the communist government), having their own paramilitary gendarmerie (security corps)
  • the army (soldiers).

Violence – The Pogrom

At around 11:00 a.m., people forced their way in together with soldiers, militiamen, and members of the security corps. Berel Frydman was pushed out of a window and Seweryn Kahane, the chairman of the Jewish Committee, was fatally shot by a Polish soldier. The violence spread into the streets and onto trains. At around 12:30 p.m., approximately 600 armed workers from the Ludwików Steelworks arrived, and a second, bloodier wave of violence began. Between 37 and 42 Jews were killed, and between 40 and 80 were wounded. Two or three Poles who tried to help were also killed.

Consequences And Memory

News of the pogrom spread worldwide within days. Nine people were sentenced to death and executed out of 49 who were tried, while many officials got away with not being held accountable. Convinced that the state would not protect them, tens of thousands of Jews left Poland within months. During the communist era, the pogrom was censored and presented as a provocation by the anti-communist underground, resulting in collective amnesia. The issue returned to public debate in the late 1980s, and a full reckoning came after 1989.

The Institute of National Remembrance investigation did not determine whether the pogrom was spontaneous or organised by the Soviet authorities or the Security Office.