Wave of Deportation from Zolkiewka, Krasnystaw, Lublin, Poland to Sobibor, Extermination Camp, Poland on 12/05/1942

The townlet of Żółkiewka was located in the Krasnystaw County of the Lublin District of the General Government (the part of occupied Poland that had not been annexed to the Reich). It lay some 25 kilometers northeast of the city of Krasnystaw. On the eve of World War II, 1,360 Jews were listed as residents of the townlet.^[1]

On September 18, 1939, Żółkiewka was occupied by the Wehrmacht. About two weeks later, the town was handed over to the Soviets for a period of eight days. When the Soviets retreated, some 100 Jews left with them, crossing over into the USSR. For the next three days, Żółkiewka was left unoccupied. During this time, the local Poles perpetrated a pogrom. At the end of September, the Germans re-entered the town.^[2]

In early 1940, a Judenrat was established in Żółkiewka, headed by Leon Feldhendler (the son of the town rabbi).^[3] Alongside him served Shaul Shutark, Gershon Rotman, and some other local notables.^[4]...