The town of Grabowiec is located 94 kilometers southeast of Lublin. During World War II, it was the capital of the Grabowiec Municipality, which was located in Hrubieszów County, within the Lublin District of occupied-Poland (the General Government).
In 1921, the Jewish population of Grabowiec was 1,721, out of a total of 2,750 inhabitants. [1] On the eve of WWII, there were 2,400 Jewish residents in Grabowiec.[2]
On Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) September 14, 1939, the Wehrmacht occupied Grabowiec. After a brief interim presence of the Soviet forces, the town was re-occupied by Nazi Germany, as agreed under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.[3] Part of the Jewish population, especially young men, left the town, together with the retreating Soviet troops, to the east.[4]...