Transport from Bilgoraj, Bilgoraj, Lublin, Poland to Tarnogrod, Bilgoraj, Lublin, Poland on 22/03/1942

Biłgoraj County is located in today’s Lublin Province, in southeastern Poland. Before World War II, it was a typical agricultural region with poor road infrastructure. In 1931, the county had a Jewish population of 12,938. Following the German occupation of Poland in 1939, the county’s boundaries were changed, and it’s Jewish population was around 16,000.^[1]

In 1939, the town of Biłgoraj itself had a Jewish population of 5,010.^[2] When the Germans entered the town, on September 17, 1939, they forcefully evicted many Jews from their apartments and housed soldiers in them. A few days later, Biłgoraj came under Soviet control. On October 5 or 6, the Red Army withdrew and the city reverted back to German occupation. About 1,500 Jews fled with the Soviet troops, fearing persecution by the Nazis. In November 1939, the German administration established a Judenrat (Jewish council) with Haim-Mordechaj Herszenhorn as its chairman.^[3]

In 1942 there were at least 2,200 Jews remaining in Biłgoraj, including those from nearby villages, according to data compiled from documents of the Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Social Self-Help (Żydowska Samopomoc Społeczna, ŻSS), the Central Welfare Council (Rada Główna Opiekuńcza, RGO), and the local administration from the German occupation period.^[4]...