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The
pogrom in Kielce, Poland that broke out on July 4, 1946 did so based on a
foolish rumor that had spread among the populace. It were dozens of Jews,
as well as some who had returned from the Soviet Union, who had only
returned to their hometown of Kielce, having survived the war, that bore
the brunt of this foolishness.
The rumor was spread that a Polish child had been kidnapped so that
his blood could be used to make matzoh. This was not the first time
that such a rumor had been spread, as this had also had occurred in
medieval times. It was this nine-year old boy who had simply strayed
from home and who had then, when he returned, accused Jews living at
a kibbutz at 7 Planty Street of having kidnapped him.
It did not take long for a thousand factory workers, armed with
weapons, along with a mounting mob of angry townspeople, to march to
this location and commit violence against those living on Planty.
Local police did take away some of the mob's weapons, but made
matters worse by forcing the residents of the kibbutz to leave their
building.
Thus, many Jews were killed and injured. An appeal was made to those
in the Catholic Church, who might have had some influence with the
mob, to stop this mob action. However, they would only blame the
Communists and the suffering of the Poles, for all that had
happened.
During the third day after the pogrom, those who were murdered where
placed into coffins and then a mass grave in the Kielce Jewish
cemetery. Those who took part in the pogrom, as well as the local
military units, were forced to attend the funerals. It was later
discovered that the incident of the child supposedly being kidnapped
was planned by right-wing groups who had told the child what to do
and say.
Though nine of those who participated in the pogrom were executed
ten days after the pogrom, the many factors that lead to the
pogromists from completing their dastardly task, e.g. the lack of
proper response from both the Church and the government, it was
believed by tens of thousand of Jews that returning to their homes
in Poland, was not for them. Hence, within only a three month period
post-pogrom, more than seventy thousand Jews emigrated from Poland
to countries in Western Europe.
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