Transport from Kalisz, Kalisz, Lodz, Poland to Sandomierz, Sandomierz, Kielce, Poland on 02/12/1939

The transport to Sandomierz (Sandomir) left Kalisz on December 2, and was one of the first two transports to depart on that day (the other transport went to Lublin). The number of deportees remains unclear: according to some sources, a total of 1,200 Jews arrived in Sandomierz from Kalisz and Sieradz (Schieratz) in December 1939. However, some testimonies state the larger number of 3,000-5,000 deportees.
Dora Wartska, who was deported with her family from Kalisz to Sandomierz in the Generalgouvernement and had a newborn baby, recalled in her post-war testimony that she wanted to use a carriage for her daughter, but the Germans wouldn't allow it. The deportees were assembled in a market hall located in Rynek Dekerta (Dekert's Marketplace), which belonged to two Jewish merchants, brothers Abram and Henoch Szrajer. During the period between December 2 and 14, the majority of the Jewish population of Kalisz was assembled in the market hall.
The deportees were kept at the market hall for a week, or perhaps even two. They were then marched in a column to a railway station where a cattle train was awaiting them. After the train cars were sealed, they remained stationary for several hours before heading for various locations in the Generalgouvernement. These deportations were organized by the mayor of Kalisz, Walter Grabowski, Obersturmführer SS Telo Klause, and several Gestapo men....