Remember Jewish Ryki

HISTORY OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

Ryki is 64 km. (40 miles) northwest of Lublin, on the main railway line to Warsaw. Its pre-war 1939 population of 4,500 included 3,000 Jews.

NEARBY JEWISH COMMUNITIES

- Stężyca had a Jewish population of 125 in 1921. In the early 1500s, around a dozen Jews lived in Stezyca. Jews in the community were grain traders, shopkeepers, rag makers, peddlers, as well as tailors, shoemakers and other craftsmen. There was a local house of study and a ritual butcher. Jews in Stężyca were part of the kehilla in Garwolin. The organizations General Zionists and Agudat Israel were active in town. Before the outbreak of World War II, about 30 Jewish families lived in Stężyca. At the end of 1939, the Judenrat was established, and consisted of 3 members led by Epsztejn. Its main purpose was to provide Jewish workers for slave labor. There were several groups of workers formed: (1) Working in a German military hospital, which was established in the area; (2) working for the needs of the German army; (3) road repairment/fortification. Around 70 Jews from Stezyca engaged in this type of slave labor. From the beginning of 1940, Jews had to wear a white armband with the Star of David. Men fit for work were transferred to the labor camp in Dęblin in 1941. On May 7, 1942, SS men from Dęblin arrived in the city. The Jews were ordered to take a small luggage with them and gather at the assembly site. When this was made known, 15 Jews fled into the forest. Two of them were caught and shot by the Germans. The Jews remaining in Stężyca were resettled to Dęblin and from there, together with the local Jews, sent to the death camp in Sobibor.

A few weeks later, 40 Jews from the labor camp in Dęblin were brought to Stężyca. Some of them were former residents of Stężyca. Among them were 3 members of the Judenrat with their families, who were taken from the transport in Dęblin. The man responsible for them and who placed them in the new camp in Stężyca was a Pole from Poznań, Kowalski. The workers were employed in construction and in road repair. On October 27, 1942, Kowalski learned that the authorities were planning to liquidate a small labor camp in Stężyca. He warned the members of the Judenrat and thanks to him, about 20 Jews, together with a member of the Katowice and his family, managed to escape to the forests. Those who remained in Stężyca, about 40 Jews, were transferred to the labor camp in Dęblin. In April 1943, a new labor camp was established in Stężyca. The workers, about 200 in number, came from various camps in the Lublin province. They were accommodated in two houses in the city and worked on the construction of the road to Pawłowice. The camp existed for two months and was liquidated in June, 1943. The fate of these workers is unknown.

RYKI DURING THE HOLOCAUST

WHAT REMAINS