Majdan Tatarski

In mid-March 1942, the Nazis began deporting the Jews in Lublin ghetto to the newly opened extermination camp Belzec, just over 100 kilometers south of Lublin. In a month, about 28,000 Jews were deported to Belzec where they were murdered in the camp’s gas chambers. After this major action, the ghetto was liquidated and the remaining 8,000 Jews were first forced to clean up the ghetto and then move to a new ghetto in an industrial area in the southern part of the city called Majdan Tatarski. The Jews were again forced into substandard overcrowded dwellings. Lack of food, medicines and other supplies led to many deaths. About 4,000 Jews who did not have work permits wher either sent to Majdanek, the ghetto in Piaski or murdered the Krepiec forest just south of Lublin.

The camp was shielded off and only with special permission could one leave and enter the ghetto. Illegal trade and smuggling were common. After a week, the Nazis carried out a raid in the heavily overcrowded ghetto to sort out unproductive and superfluous Jews. About 3,000 Jews were sent to the nearby Majdanek concentration camp, where about 2,700 were murdered in camp’s gas chamber. The others were sent back to the ghetto, which now consisted of about 4,000 Jews. In addition to Jews being murdered in Majdanek, Jews were also murdered in the ghetto itself or taken to execution sites outside Lublin, for instance, Krepiec forest. The ghetto was gradually phased out during the summer and autumn and was liquidated in November, 1942. About 3000 were sent to Majdanek, a small number was sent to labor camps and just under 300 were murdered in the ghetto.