Murder story of Bolechow Jews at the Dołżka Horse Burial Ground

On July 13, 1943, the workers of the United City Industry, the Road Construction Authority, and the Water Management (some 300 people in total) were liquidated. Around 4 AM, armed and helmeted Gestapo men surrounded the United City Industry barracks, on the premises of Ellendman, Torten, Rand, and Halpern (the former candle factory), and ordered everyone to assemble in half an hour near the bridge on Railway Street across from the mill. All the men, women, and children who had illegally sheltered in the cellars and closets of these barracks assembled there. The Gestapo men told them that they would be sent to Dolina to work. Around 7 AM, they were led into the forest behind the Jewish cemetery, where graves had been dug. Upon arriving at the site, they were ordered to undress and lie down side by side. Wishing to pack [the Jews] as tightly as possible, the killers told them to lie with their feet wrapped around the head of the person next to them. Once they were arranged in this manner, the Gestapo men shot them with machine guns. Ducio Schindler had been shot during an escape attempt on the way there, on Szewska Street. The workers from the Water Administration barracks were liquidated at the same time. Many people died in this liquidation.

…At dawn on July 6, [1943], a large force of Ukrainian [auxiliary] policemen (who had been brought in from outside), under the command of a German, encircled these camps [i.e., the Water Management (Wasserwirtschaft) and the United City Industry (Vereinigte Stadt Industrie)]. Some 100 people [i.e., inmates of the camps] were taken to the [town] magistrate building and incarcerated in two large cells (the building of the magistrate served as both a police station and a jail). As usual, several Jews were killed while trying to escape. However, some inmates of the camps had managed to hide and avoid [the roundup]. As we would learn from several survivors, the Ukrainian policemen tried to convince the [incarcerated] Jews that they would be taken to work in the vicinity of Dolina. But it was clear to everyone that the stay in the magistrate building would be over as soon as the mass grave was dug. …In the afternoon, the victims were taken to the killing site.… Ducio Schindler decided to set an example [of Jewish resistance] and broke through the chain of guards. Hit by numerous bullets, he lay dying there for many hours.… The rest were taken to a spot in the vicinity of the [village of] Dołżka, where horse carcasses were buried. Everyone was executed.…