Tarnów, Poland

Welcome to Tarnów, a beautiful city located in southeastern Poland. With a population of over 105,000 inhabitants, Tarnów is a major rail junction and a member of the Association of Polish Cities. The city is known for its traditional Polish architecture, which was influenced by foreign cultures and foreigners that once lived in the area, most notably Jews, Germans and Austrians. The Old Town, featuring 16th century tenements, houses and defensive walls, has been preserved. Tarnów is also the warmest city of Poland, with the highest long-term mean annual temperature in the whole country. Companies headquartered in the city include Polands largest chemical industry company Grupa Azoty and defence industry company ZMT. Tarnów has a rich history dating back to the mid-9th century, when a Slavic gord was established on the Tarnóws St. Martin Mount. The town prospered during the Polish Golden Age, when it belonged to Hetman Jan Tarnowski. During the Second Polish Republic, Tarnów belonged to Kraków Voivodeship, and gave the newly established country many outstanding figures, such as Franciszek Latinik and Wincenty Witos. Before World War II, about 25,000 Jews lived in Tarnów. Jews, whose recorded presence in the town went back to the mid-15th century, comprised about half of the towns total population. The Jewish community was ideologically diverse and included religious Hasidim, secular Zionists, and many more. Immediately following the German occupation of the city on 8 September 1939, the persecution of the Jews began. German units burned down most of the citys synagogues on 9 September and drafted Jews for forced-labor projects. Tarnów was incorporated into the Generalgouvernement. Many Tarnów Jews fled to the east, while a large influx of refugees from elsewhere in occupied Poland continued to increase the towns Jewish population. In early November, the Germans ordered the establishment of a Jewish council (Judenrat) to transmit orders and regulations to the Jewish community. Among the duties of the Jewish council were enforcement of special taxation on the community and providing workers for forced labor. During 1941, life for the Jews of Tarnów became increasingly precarious. The Germans imposed a large collective fine on the community. Jews were required to hand in their valuables. Roundups for labor became more frequent and killings became more commonplace and arbitrary. Deportations from Tarnów began in June 1942, when about 13,500 Jews were sent to the Belzec extermination camp. The first major act in the extermination of the Jews of Tarnów was the so-called first operation from 11–19 June 1942. The Germans gathered thousands of Jews in the Rynek (market place), and then they were tortured and killed. During this time period, on the streets of the town and in the Jewish cemetery, about 3,000 Jews were shot; in the woods of Zbylitowska Góra a few kilometers away from Tarnów a further 7,000 were murdered. Tarnów is a city with a rich history and a bright future, and it is definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in Polish culture and history.