Authors retain the copyright without restrictions for their published content in this journal. HSSR is a SHERPA ROMEO Green Journal.
Publishing License
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of
Forced labor of Jews in the Szydłowiec ghetto during World War II - The nature of the work performed, its dimension and social aspects
Corresponding Author(s) : Marlena Bodo
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 9 No. 5 (2021): September
Abstract
Purpose of the study: The article contains information on the forced labor performed by Jews for the benefit of Germans during the Second World War. The research area was narrowed down to the area of the Szydłowiec ghetto and its vicinity (the Radom district in the General Government. The text presents the types of work performed by Jews, forms of forcing them to take up forced labor, and their attempts to bypass German restrictions.
Methodology: This article is based on a comparative-historical method, the aim of which is to enable the researcher to identify Jews as a separate social group that was used by the Germans for forced labor. The use of this method is aimed at learning about the historical processes and mechanisms of functioning of selected Nazi restrictions in Poland. In addition, prosopographic and inductive methods as well as a method based on the grounded theory will be used. Moreover, due to the nature of the subject of the work, the research conducted in this field also requires the use of oral history.
Main Findings: Extremely burdensome, in many aspects, compulsion for Jews was the almost slave labor they performed for the benefit of the Germans. Every Jew had to work at least one day a week for the Third Reich. Jews were used for various types of work, including snow removal from roads. Slave labor for the benefit of the Nazis was one of the causes of the increasing poverty of Jews.
Application: The results of the research make a significant contribution to the knowledge of the history of Jews from Szydłowiec. This research not only broadens the knowledge about the history of the functioning of the Jewish community in Szydłowiec during World War II, but also broadens the knowledge about the history of the Holocaust and the mechanisms of crimes. These studies can be used to further analyze the situation of Jews during the German occupation in the territory of the Radom district, or more broadly, in the territory of the General Government.
Novelty/Originality of the study: For the first time in this study, many fragments of Jewish diaries from the Memorial Book of Szydłowiec were used (some of the memoirs were published only in Yiddish). The article is the basis for further research on the history of Jews during World War II in the area of the Radom district.
Keywords
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
- Aizenberg M. Archives of the Jewish Historical Institute, Testimonies, sygn. 302/6.
- AJIH (Archives of the Jewish history Institute). Żydowska Samopomoc Społeczna, sygn. 484.
- AJIH (Archives of the Jewish history Institute). Memoirs, Abraham Finkler, sygn. 302/6.
- APR (Archive in Radom). Files of Prisoners, file no. F-453, D-405, M-1012, K-1884, W-974.
- Eisenberg M. (1989). Running, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Engelking B. (2001). Zagłada i pamięć, Warsaw.
- Finkler A. (1989). A ghetto, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, red. B. Kagan, New York.
- Henig I. (1989). The first labor camps, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Kornbroyt O. (1989). From Juzefów to Hasag, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Krajevski B. (1989). Out of, , [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Milstein I. (1989). Chronicle, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Piątkowski S. (2009). Więzienie niemieckie w Radomiu 1939-1945, Lublin.
- Pilichowski C. (1974). Nazi camps in Poland 1939-1945. Encyclopedic booklet, Warsaw.
- Pomerantz J. (1989). Kingdom of death, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Rosenberg B.T. (1989). Escape from, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Semyaticki-Sharfhartz T. (1989). From Szydłowiec, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Shapshewish, Starbcjowicz J., (1989). Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
- Słomińska-Paprocka D. (2000). Szydłowiec i okolice, Szydłowiec.
- Słonimski A. (2007). Elegia miasteczek żydowskich, [in:] Przechować pamięć tamtych dni, ed. G. Miernik, Szydłowiec.
- Törnquist-Plewa B. (2006). The Tale of Szydłowiec. Memory and Oblivion in a Former Shtetl in Poland, [in:] The Holocaust in post-war battlefields: genocide as historical culture, ed. K. Karlsson, U. Zander, Sekel Bokfoerlag.
- Urbański K. (2004). Zagłada Żydów w dystrykcie radomskim, Cracow.
- Weisbrot A. (1989). Ghetto, hiding-place and camp, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
References
Aizenberg M. Archives of the Jewish Historical Institute, Testimonies, sygn. 302/6.
AJIH (Archives of the Jewish history Institute). Żydowska Samopomoc Społeczna, sygn. 484.
AJIH (Archives of the Jewish history Institute). Memoirs, Abraham Finkler, sygn. 302/6.
APR (Archive in Radom). Files of Prisoners, file no. F-453, D-405, M-1012, K-1884, W-974.
Eisenberg M. (1989). Running, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Engelking B. (2001). Zagłada i pamięć, Warsaw.
Finkler A. (1989). A ghetto, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, red. B. Kagan, New York.
Henig I. (1989). The first labor camps, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Kornbroyt O. (1989). From Juzefów to Hasag, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Krajevski B. (1989). Out of, , [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Milstein I. (1989). Chronicle, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Piątkowski S. (2009). Więzienie niemieckie w Radomiu 1939-1945, Lublin.
Pilichowski C. (1974). Nazi camps in Poland 1939-1945. Encyclopedic booklet, Warsaw.
Pomerantz J. (1989). Kingdom of death, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Rosenberg B.T. (1989). Escape from, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Semyaticki-Sharfhartz T. (1989). From Szydłowiec, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Shapshewish, Starbcjowicz J., (1989). Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.
Słomińska-Paprocka D. (2000). Szydłowiec i okolice, Szydłowiec.
Słonimski A. (2007). Elegia miasteczek żydowskich, [in:] Przechować pamięć tamtych dni, ed. G. Miernik, Szydłowiec.
Törnquist-Plewa B. (2006). The Tale of Szydłowiec. Memory and Oblivion in a Former Shtetl in Poland, [in:] The Holocaust in post-war battlefields: genocide as historical culture, ed. K. Karlsson, U. Zander, Sekel Bokfoerlag.
Urbański K. (2004). Zagłada Żydów w dystrykcie radomskim, Cracow.
Weisbrot A. (1989). Ghetto, hiding-place and camp, [in:] Memorial Book of Szydłowiec, ed. B. Kagan, New York.