Policemen and an SS man cutting the sidelocks of a Jew wrapped in a tallit in Koźnica, Poland, as part of the initial abuse of Jews following the occupation of Poland. September, 1939.
On the eve of World War II, approximately 4,800 Jews lived in Kozienice, Poland, about 100 km south of Warsaw – more than half of its population. With the occupation of the town on September 9, 1939, the Germans abused Jews in the streets. In October, the town’s synagogue was set on fire. Jews who attempted to save sacred books were shot in the street. The Germans conscripted hundreds of Jewish men aged 15–60 for forced labor. Wehrmacht soldiers and German Gestapo personnel occasionally murdered Jews who were engaged in forced labor. Following the occupation of Kozienice, a Judenrat was established and a regime of forced labor was imposed. In August 1942, refugees doubled the population of the ghetto, and on September 2, 1942, 8,000 Jews were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp. (See also the Yad Vashem Photo Archive 1869/610).
11.5×8 cm. Good condition.
