The fate of ghettoised Jews across occupied Poland was sealed at Wannsee in early 1942, when the Final Solution was set in motion.
The Kielce Ghetto was eradicated in three operations in the course of only five days as part of Operation Reinhard, which marked the deadliest phase of the Holocaust in occupied Poland.
The first ghetto liquidation action took place on 20 August 1942.
During roundups, all Jews unable to move were shot on the spot including the sick, the elderly, and the disabled.
Around 6,000–7,000, mostly women and children, were herded onto Okrzei Street and transported to Treblinka extermination camp.
Within four days, 1,200 people including patients of the Jewish hospital were shot face-to-face and 20,000–21,000 Jews were led into waiting Holocaust trains, sent to Treblinka, and murdered in the gas chambers.
By the end of 24 August 1942, there were only 2,000 people left in the ghetto.

All surviving Jewish skilled workers were lodged in the labour camp at Stolarska and Jasna Street (pl) within the small ghetto, including members of the Judenrat, Levy with his family, and the Jewish policemen.
The Holocaust survivor, Adam Helfand, forced along with a group of Jewish men to collect corpses of prisoners massacred during the ghetto liquidation, took part in the digging of mass graves at the Jewish cemetery.
Helfand remembered stripping the bodies naked before burial on German orders and witnessed the terrorized Jews yanking gold teeth from the mouths of cadavers on pain of death.

The labour camp functioned for several more months, supplying slave labour to German factories that were still running.
In May 1943, some Jewish prisoners from Kielce were taken to forced-labour camps in Starachowice, Skarżysko-Kamienna, Pionki, and Bliżyn.
On 23 May 1943, the German police collected 45 Jewish children who had stayed behind at the liquidated camp.
They were brought to the Pakosz Cemetery and shot.
Their ages ranged from 15 months to 15 years.
In September 1943, as the Soviet front advanced westward, what remained of the Kielce slave labour facilities was gradually abandoned.
The remaining skilled workers were sent to the Auschwitz complex and further to Buchenwald, including future Canadian artist Gershon Iskowitz.
The Soviet Red Army rolled into Kielce on 15 January 1945.
The once-vibrant Jewish community that existed in Kielce since the mid-1800s was all but wiped out.

During the ghetto liquidation, there were a number of Jewish escapes, as well as rescue attempts by local Polish gentiles.
Several Jews who escaped the ghetto were sheltered by Stefan Sawa in the village Zagórze near Daleszyce.
Polish Home Army soldiers of the "Wybraniecki" unit, commanded by Marian Sołtysiak ("Barabasz"), murdered the hiding Jews and Sawa.
Six Jewish victims are known by name, but more than ten were probably murdered.
Sawa was posthumously awarded a Righteous Among the Nations medal.
Other righteous who helped Kielce Ghetto's Jews includ Bolesław Idzikowski, and the Śliwiński family.
The fate of ghettoised Jews across occupied Poland was sealed at Wannsee in early 1942, when the Final Solution was set in motion. The Kielce Ghetto was eradicated in three operations in the course of only five days as part of Operation Reinhard, which marked the deadliest phase of the Holocaust in occupied Poland. The first ghetto liquidation action took place on 20 August 1942. During roundups, all Jews unable to move were shot on the spot including the sick, the elderly, and the disabled. Around 6,000–7,000, mostly women and children, were herded onto Okrzei Street and transported to Treblinka extermination camp. Within four days, 1,200 people including patients of the Jewish hospital were shot face-to-face and 20,000–21,000 Jews were led into waiting Holocaust trains, sent to Treblinka, and murdered in the gas chambers. By the end of 24 August 1942, there were only 2,000 people left in the ghetto.
All surviving Jewish skilled workers were lodged in the labour camp at Stolarska and Jasna Street (pl) within the small ghetto, including members of the Judenrat, Levy with his family, and the Jewish policemen. The Holocaust survivor, Adam Helfand, forced along with a group of Jewish men to collect corpses of prisoners massacred during the ghetto liquidation, took part in the digging of mass graves at the Jewish cemetery. Helfand remembered stripping the bodies naked before burial on German orders and witnessed the terrorized Jews yanking gold teeth from the mouths of cadavers on pain of death.
The labour camp functioned for several more months, supplying slave labour to German factories that were still running. In May 1943, some Jewish prisoners from Kielce were taken to forced-labour camps in Starachowice, Skarżysko-Kamienna, Pionki, and Bliżyn. On 23 May 1943, the German police collected 45 Jewish children who had stayed behind at the liquidated camp. They were brought to the Pakosz Cemetery and shot. Their ages ranged from 15 months to 15 years. In September 1943, as the Soviet front advanced westward, what remained of the Kielce slave labour facilities was gradually abandoned. The remaining skilled workers were sent to the Auschwitz complex and further to Buchenwald, including future Canadian artist Gershon Iskowitz. The Soviet Red Army rolled into Kielce on 15 January 1945. The once-vibrant Jewish community that existed in Kielce since the mid-1800s was all but wiped out.
During the ghetto liquidation, there were a number of Jewish escapes, as well as rescue attempts by local Polish gentiles. Several Jews who escaped the ghetto were sheltered by Stefan Sawa in the village Zagórze near Daleszyce. Polish Home Army soldiers of the "Wybraniecki" unit, commanded by Marian Sołtysiak ("Barabasz"), murdered the hiding Jews and Sawa. Six Jewish victims are known by name, but more than ten were probably murdered. Sawa was posthumously awarded a Righteous Among the Nations medal. Other righteous who helped Kielce Ghetto's Jews includ Bolesław Idzikowski, and the Śliwiński family.
Kielce Ghetto