The village of Michałów is located approximately 127 kilometers southeast of the city of Lublin. During World War II, it was one of twenty-five villages which belonged to the municipality (gmina) of Rachanie, in Zamość County, within the Lublin District of occupied Poland (the General Government). A census conducted by the Polish government in 1921 recorded eighteen Jews living in Michałów.[1]
The village was probably occupied by the Germans in mid-September 1939. Then, after a brief interim period of Soviet control, it reverted to German forces on September 27.[2]
At the end of 1940, eight Jews were living in Michałów, according to German records. [3] However, the village’s Jewish population is likely to have increased following the arrival of deportees from the nearby town of Tomaszów Lubelski (about 19 kilometers southeast of Michałów) and from the Municipality of Rachanie itself, in May 1942.[4] Some Jews escaped, while others were employed on local farms and in factories in Michałów and in other nearby villages.[5]...