Solec nad Wisłą (Solec on the Vistula) is an old town located in the Mazowieckie Province. Wandering along its streets, one can come upon traces of past events, including traces of Jewish blood shed here during World War II. They are invisible to our eyes, but they remain in the memory of the town's inhabitants.
The history of the Solec Jews dates back to 1683, when King Jan III Sobieski granted them the right to settle in the town. The 18th and the 19th century marked an intense development of the Jewish population. In 1889, the Jewish community was officially founded; a synagogue, mikveh and cheder were established, as well as a cemetery at Leśna Street. With time, the number of Jews living in Solec increased; they were mostly involved in trade and industry. According to the last available pre-war data, dating back to 1937, the Solec nad Wisłą district was inhabited by 830 Jews. German troops entered Solec on 9 September 1939. Soon afterwards, an unprecedented crime was committed in the town. For many years, the tragic events have lived in the memory of the residents of Solec, passed down in family tales through generations. They have also been described by Radom-based historian Jan Franecki. According to the accounts of the town dwellers, it happened two days after Germans occupied Solec. On that day, the soldiers of the 29th Motorised Division drove ca. 40 Jews into the post-monastery church, where they locked them in the room next to the monastery choir and threw grenades through the windows. Being burned alive, the victims stuck their hands through bars, screamed and begged for help. The events were recalled by the late teachers who lived in the vicinity of the church and saw this human tragedy from Klasztorna Street (present-day Staszica Street). They were also witnessed by Maria Peryt, who was forced to work for the Germans living on the first floor of the monastery. All the witness accounts contain descriptions of human screams, hands protruding from behind bars, smoke, and the stench of burnt bodies. Charred body parts scattered around the crime scene were all that was left of the murdered people. According to local residents, Germans buried the remains in two different places – some at the school yard (former monastic courtyard), near the door and the well; some were most probably transported to the Jewish cemetery. Witnesses saw Germans driving towards the cemetery, shouting that the residents must cover the windows. One of the witnesses recalled a Jewish man who, trying to save himself, escaped to the attic and climbed to the monastery tower. Unfortunately, he was spotted by a German and shot dead.
The Archives of the Reformed Branch of the Franciscan Order contain a report on the transfer of property of the St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church, written on 16 March 1943 by Jan Boduszek, the parish priest of Solec. The report mentions that in 1943 the room next to the choir was completely destroyed by fire, and “the walls still carry traces of blood.” Whose blood it was, and how monstrous was the crime, the monks learned from the stories of the residents of Solec.
However, the monastery church is not the only place where Jewish blood was shed in Solec nad Wisłą. Traces of crimes committed on Jews can also be found on the streets of the town. In September 1941, a ghetto was established in Solec. In November 1941, its prisoners were transported to Tarłów, and from there to the extermination camp in Treblinka. Let us refer again to the memory of the town's inhabitants. M.P. recalled how a young Jewess had left the ghetto with a small child in order to get to the Market Square. Unfortunately, a German saw them and shot her and her child. W.S. witnessed a similar crime on Łoteckiego Street, where another Jewish woman was shot by a German.
J.F. recalled that Germans tortured Jews in the school yard (former monastery courtyard). Those who did not survive the torture and died on the spot were buried in the school garden. The register of Nazi crimes also lists the names of at least several Jews shot on the streets of Solec in the years 1942–1943. They were all buried at the Jewish cemetery at Leśna Street. We do not know, however, how many such deaths have remained unnoticed or forgotten, how many more streets bear traces of Jewish blood. For decades, war-time events were only discussed privately among the families of Solec. The ordinary inhabitants of Solec nad Wisłą effectively served as historians. They did not have any support from the church or the education system. Initially, the silence of public institutions was justified by the political situation in the country. However, nothing justifies silence now. Nowadays, further silence implies complicity in what had happened. It is our duty to reveal the historical truth and to talk about it. It is our duty to remember those who were brutally murdered. There is no plaque or any information on the anti-Jewish crimes in the post-monastery church or in the school located in the former monastery. And yet they were the site of a tragic death of many Jews, which merits proper commemoration.
The Jewish cemetery founded in the Solec District in 1889 still exists but it does not resemble a place of memory. The area is unfenced, overgrown, and littered. Some Solec inhabitants have tried to clean up the cemetery on their own, but that is not enough. The district authorities should ensure that the place where people had been laid to rest for many decades and where the bodies of Jews burned in the church were buried is duly commemorated.
Let us repeat the words of priest Jan Boduszka. Traces of Jewish blood are already invisible to our eyes, but they are visible to our hearts. Let us not allow for the memory of the crimes committed here to die with the subsequent generations of inhabitants of Solec nad Wisłą. Let us keep the memory of the traces of blood for the sake of future generations.
Brother Francis FZS
