Kielce

Many of the Jews fortunate to survive the Holocaust who returned to their pre-war homes in Poland discovered they were not welcome.

This was the case in Kielce, where on July 4, 1946, a mob of local Poles, police and soldiers attacked a building housing around 150 re-settlement Jews in Kielce, killing 42. Many of those killed were children. Along with other instances of Polish resentment and attacks toward Jews, who were in some cases reclaiming property stolen during the war, the Kielce massacre convinced many that Jews would have to restart their lives in another country. For many that country was Israel and for many that country was the United States.

Today we visited the building where the attack occurred and the cemetery where the victims are buried. We gained admittance to the cemetery through a caretaker with a key to a gate that is kept locked in order to prevent vandalism.

This afternoon as we entered nearby Lodz, our guide explained that the fans of two rival soccer teams each use graffiti that depicts their opponents as "Jewish" as a way of demeaning their rivals.

It is important to note, however, that in recent years both locally and nationally, Poles have been more forthcoming in acknowledging what happened in Kielce in particular and the damages of antisemitism in general. We saw a tribute to the victims of the Kielce massacre at the cemetery from children in a local elementary school.

Tomorrow we tour Lodz and Friday we go to Treblinka.