Kielce pogrom — massacre of Jews in the southeastern Polish town of Kielce on July 4, 1946.
The deadliest postwar antisemitic pogrom in Poland, killing 42 Jews and triggering mass emigration of Holocaust survivors from the country.
Key Facts
- Date
- 4 July 1946
- Jews killed
- 42
- Jews wounded
- More than 40
- Survivors in targeted building
- Approximately 150–160
- Location of attack
- 7 Planty Street, Kielce
- Pretext
- False accusation of child kidnapping (blood libel)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A false accusation that Jewish residents at 7 Planty Street had kidnapped a Polish child revived the centuries-old antisemitic blood libel myth. Despite the rapid collapse of the kidnapping claim, state forces circulated rumors that drew a hostile crowd of soldiers, police officers, and civilians to the building.
On 4 July 1946, Polish soldiers, police officers, and civilians attacked a building housing roughly 150–160 Jewish Holocaust survivors in Kielce, Poland. Forty-two Jews were killed and more than 40 wounded. Additional Jews were murdered elsewhere in the city and at the local train station during the same day.
The pogrom prompted a mass exodus of Jewish Holocaust survivors from Poland and drew sharp international condemnation. Polish authorities conducted trials that resulted in death sentences and prison terms, though senior security officials faced minimal accountability. The communist government initially attributed blame to political opponents rather than acknowledging systemic antisemitism.