Transport from Grabowiec, Hrubieszow, Lublin, Poland to Sobibor, Extermination Camp, Poland on 08/06/1942

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 Herubieszów County, within the Lublin District of occupied Poland (the General Government).

In 1921, the Jewish population of the town numbered 1,721, out of a total population of 2,750.^[1] On the eve of the war, there were 2,400 Jewish residents in Grabowiec.^[2]

On Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) September 14, 1939, the Wehrmacht occupied Grabowiec. Three days later, the Germans retreated, handing the area over to the Red Army, as they had agreed under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The Jews in the village felt more secure with the Soviets.^[3] The Red Army stayed a bit more than two weeks, before retreating on October 3.^[4] A part of the Jewish population, especially the young men, evacuated together with the Soviet troops to the east. Then, German forces reoccupied the town.^[5] ...