Borzecin
In a forest outside a small town called Borzecin, about sixty kilometres east of Krakow, a group of Roma were stopped by German gendarmes in July 1942. The group consisted of 3 men, 5 women, 21 children (between 4 – 12 years) and a newborn baby. The Germans confiscated carts from nearby locals to transport them closer to Borzecin. There, just outside the town, the Germans forced the Roma into the forest where they were shot, except for one child who managed to escape into the forest. After the massacre, locals were brought to the place and the German commander forced them to bury the dead.
Current status: Monument (2023).
Location: 50°05'54.36"N 20°44'15.54"E
Get there: Car.
Follow up in books: Lewy, Guenter: The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies (2000).
In 1959, the bodies were dug up and buried in a common grave in a cemetery in Borzecin. In 2010, a monument was erected on the site of the massacre that can be easily seen from the road and. There is also a simple information board that informs about the massacre. Since its creation, the monument has been subjected to vandalism.