Polish-Jewish Relations as Illustrated by the District of Sokołów-Węgrów: A Case Study

The outbreak of the Second World War changed the fate of families and entire national groups inhabiting the occupied Polish lands. The pre-war symbiosis in the district of Sokołów-Węgrów was ended, and the district was subjected to social and economic destruction. Former neighbors were now separated by the walls of the ghettos in which Polish Jews had been rounded up (as the 1st stage of the Holocaust – ghettoization). Two main ghettos were established within the district (then a part of the Warsaw district, within the General Government), in Sokołów and Węgrów. Smaller ghettos were established in Sadowne, Kosów Lacki and Sterdyń. The Jews from other towns were deported to already existing ghettos.

The district (kreis) of Sokołów-Węgrów will serve as an example illustrating the situation of Jews and their relations with Poles in the provincial areas, as well as the subsequent stages of the Holocaust. The present paper will focus on mutual Polish-Jewish relations as influenced by the German terror and by the close proximity of the occupier, in an area which incorporated one of the largest extermination camps – Treblinka II. I will attempt to answer the following question: was it at all possible to help Jews, and if so – in what manner and to what extent? My objective is to demonstrate various attitudes adopted by the Poles toward the Jews during the war. I also aim to determine how many Jews in this district were rescued and by what means, and whether these Jews were local residents who had known their rescuers before 1939. I will also establish the number of Jews who lived in this area after the war.