Horodec

In the period between the two World Wars, Horodec was home to about 250 Jews, who made up roughly a third of the population of the village. The local Jews were artisans and petty merchants. Horodec had a Jewish library, a choir, and a drama group. Following the annexation of the region to the Soviet Union in September 1939, several Jews from Horodec were deported into the Russian interior. The Germans occupied Horodec in the first days after their invasion of the USSR – apparently, on June 24, 1941. Their arrival heralded a slew of anti-Jewish decrees, including the wearing of Star of David armbands, forced labor, and other sanctions. In May 1942, the Jews of Horodec, along with Jews from nearby villages, were concentrated in a sealed ghetto. The Horodec Ghetto was liquidated in late July 1942. Most of its inmates were sent by train to the Bronna Góra station, where they were murdered together with the Jews from Drohiczyn and Janów. The Germans spared some skilled workers, who were transferred to the Antopol Ghetto shortly afterward. They were murdered along with the local Jews in the Chojniki Tract on October 15-16, 1942. Some of the Jews of Horodec were killed in the town itself. Horodec was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944.