Jews may have been present in Chelm in the 12^th Century and contributed one of the largest and most important communities in Poland by the 16^th Century. Over time the Jews of Chem inexplicably earned a reputation for simple –mindedness, giving rise to many entertaining stories and making Chelm or Chelmer bywords in the Jewish world.

Disaster struck the Jewish community in Chelm in the mid-seventeenth century, when one of Bogdan Chmielnicki’s armed Cossack units burst into the town, killing many Jews.

On the eve of the Second World War there were about 15,000 Jews in Chelm, by circa 1941/ 1942 the population according to Das General Government by Du Prel, was around 35, 000 made up of 18,000 Poles, 12,000 Jews and 5,000 Ukrainians.

The Germans occupied the city on 9 October 1939 immediately instituting a regime of severe persecution, such as the incident described below:

“In December 1939 several hundred Jews from Chelm were taken in trucks to Hrubieszow, where together with more than a thousand Jews from Hrubieszow they were forced to walk to the Soviet border.

The Jews were told that they would be going out to work. Many women and children tried to join their men-folk, not wishing to be separated from them, but were ordered to return home. Craftsmen, shoemakers and carpenters were ordered to lead the march.”

Read the full story here: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/chelmborek.html

The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team

www.HolocaustResearchProject.org

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