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List of Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland - Wikipedia

  • ️Mon Feb 08 2016

Ghettos were established by Nazi Germany in hundreds of locations across occupied Poland after the German invasion of Poland.[1][2][3] Most ghettos were established between October 1939 and July 1942 in order to confine and segregate Poland's Jewish population of about 3.5 million for the purpose of persecution, terror, and exploitation. In smaller towns, ghettos often served as staging points for Jewish slave-labor and mass deportation actions, while in the urban centers they resembled walled-off prison-islands described by some historians as little more than instruments of "slow, passive murder", with dead bodies littering the streets.[4]

In most cases, the larger ghettos did not correspond to traditional Jewish neighborhoods, and non-Jewish Poles and members of other ethnic groups were ordered to take up residence elsewhere. Smaller Jewish communities with populations under 500 were terminated through expulsion soon after the invasion.[5][6]

The liquidation of the Jewish ghettos across occupied Poland was closely connected with the construction of secretive death camps—industrial-scale mass-extermination facilities—built in early 1942 for the sole purpose of murder.[7] The Nazi extermination program depended on rail transport, which enabled the SS to run and, at the same time, openly lie to their victims about the "resettlement program". Jews were transported to their deaths in Holocaust trains from liquidated ghettos of all occupied cities, including Łódź Ghetto, the last in Poland to be liquidated in August 1944.[7][8][9] In some larger ghettos there were armed resistance attempts, such as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Białystok Ghetto Uprising, the Będzin and the Łachwa Ghetto uprisings, but in every case they failed against the overwhelming German military force, and the resisting Jews were either executed locally or deported with the rest of prisoners to the extermination camps.[4] By the time Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe was liberated by the Red Army, not a single Jewish ghetto in Poland was left standing.[10] Only about 50,000–120,000 Polish Jews survived the war on native soil, a fraction of their prewar population of 3,500,000.[11][12]

In total, according to archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "The Germans established at least 1000 ghettos in German-occupied and annexed Poland and the Soviet Union alone."[13] The list of locations of the Jewish ghettos within the borders of pre-war and post-war Poland is compiled with the understanding that their inhabitants were either of Polish nationality from before the invasion, or had strong historical ties with Poland. Also, not all ghettos are listed here due to their transient nature. Permanent ghettos were created only in settlements with rail connections, because the food aid (paid by the Jews themselves) was completely dependent on the Germans, making even the potato-peels a hot commodity.[14] Throughout 1940 and 1941, most ghettos were sealed off from the outside, walled off or enclosed with barbed wire, and any Jews found outside them could be shot on sight. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest ghetto in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, with over 400,000 Jews crammed into an area of 3.4 square kilometres (1.3 sq mi), or 7.2 persons per room.[15] The Łódź Ghetto was the second largest, holding about 160,000 inmates.[16] In documents and signage, the Nazis usually referred to the ghettos they created as Jüdischer Wohnbezirk or Wohngebiet der Juden, meaning "Jewish Quarter". By the end of 1941, most Polish Jews were already ghettoized, even though the Germans knew that the system was unsustainable; most inmates had no chance of earning their own keep, and no savings left to pay the SS for further deliveries.[14] The quagmire was resolved at the Wannsee conference of 20 January 1942 near Berlin, where the "Final Solution" (die Endlösung der Judenfrage) was set in place.[17]

Ghetto location in prewar
and postwar Poland[20] Population Date of
creation Date of
liquidation Final
destination   (in alphabetical order)        (year, month)      (year, month)   1939–1940
The first ghetto (Piotrków Trybunalski Ghetto) was set up on 8 October 1939, 38 days after the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939.[21] Within months, the most populous Jewish ghettos in World War II, the Warsaw Ghetto and the Łódź Ghetto, had been established.   Aleksandrów Lódzki 3,500    1939   Dec 1939     to Głowno ghetto   Bełżyce 4,500    Jun 1940   May 1943     to Budzyń ghetto → Sobibor and Majdanek   Będzin Ghetto 7,000[3]–28,000[22]  Jul 1940   Aug 1943     to Auschwitz (7,000).[23]   Błonie 2,100    Dec 1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 2,100)   Bodzentyn 700    1940   Sep 1942     to Suchedniów ghetto → Treblinka.[24]   Brześć Kujawski 630    1940   Apr 1942     to Łódź Ghetto → Chełmno death camp   Brzesko 4,000-6,000 fall 1941 Sept 1942 to Auschwitz and Belzec   Brzeziny 6,000–6,800    Feb 1940   May 1942     to Łódź Ghetto → Chełmno   Brzozów 1,000    1940   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Bychawa 2,700    1940   Apr 1941     to Belzyce   Chęciny 4,000    1940 – Jun 1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka   Ciechanów 5,000[25]  1940   Nov 1942     to labour camps (1,500), Mława Ghetto → Auschwitz,[26] many killed locally.[25]   Dąbrowa Górnicza 4,000–10,000    1940   Jun 1943     to Auschwitz   Dęblin–Irena Ghetto 3,300–5,800    Apr 1940   Oct 1942     to Sobibor and Treblinka   Działoszyce 15,000?    Apr 1940   Oct 1942     to Płaszów and Bełżec extermination camp   Gąbin 2,000–2,300    1940   Apr 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Głowno 5,600    May 1940   Mar 1941     to Łowicz ghetto and Warsaw Ghetto (5,600)   Gorlice (labor camp 1st) ?    1940   1942     to Buchenwald, Muszyna, Mielec, see Gorlice Ghetto (1941)   Góra Kalwaria 3,300    Jan 1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (3,000), 300 killed locally   Grodzisk Mazowiecki 6,000    1940 – Jan 1941   Oct 1942     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 6,000)   Grójec 5,200–6,000    Jul 1940   Sep 1942     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 6,000) → Treblinka   Izbica Kujawska 1,000    1940   Jan 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Jeżów 1,600    1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 1,600)   Jędrzejów 6,000    Mar 1940   Sep 1942     to Treblinka   Kazimierz Dolny 2,000–3,500    1940 – Apr 1941   Mar 1942     to Sobibor, and Treblinka   Kobyłka 1,500    Sep 1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Koło 2,000–5,000    Dec 1940   Dec 1941     to Treblinka (2,000) and Chełmno   Koniecpol 1,100–1,600    1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Konin 1,500?    Dec 1939   1940 – Mar 1941     to Zagórów & other ghettos → killed locally   Kozienice 13,000    Jan 1940   Sep 1942     to Treblinka   Koźminek 2,500    1940   Jul 1942      to Chełmno   Krasnystaw 2,000    Aug 1940   Oct 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Krośniewice 1,500    May 1940   Mar 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Kutno 7,000    Jun 1940   Mar 1942     to Chełmno   Legionowo 3,000    1940   1942     to Treblinka   Łańcut 2,700    Dec 1939   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Łask 4,000    Dec 1940   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Łowicz 8,000–8,200    1940   Mar 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all; with labor camp)[27]   Łódź Ghetto 200,000    8 Feb 1940   Aug 1944     to Auschwitz and Chełmno extermination camp, labour camps (1,000)   Marki ?    1940 – Mar 1941   1942     to Warsaw Ghetto   Mielec 4,000–4,500    1940   Mar 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Mińsk Mazowiecki Ghetto 5,000–7,000    Oct 1940   Aug 1942     to Treblinka, 1,300 killed locally   Mława 6,000–6,500    Dec 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka and Auschwitz   Mogielnica 1,500    1940   28 Feb 1942     to Warsaw Ghetto (all) → Treblinka.[28]   Mordy 4,500    Nov 1940   Aug 1942     to Treblinka   Myślenice 1,200    1940   Aug 1942     to Skawina Ghetto (all) → Bełżec   Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki 2,000–4,000    1940 – Jan 1941   Dec 1942     to Pomiechówek ghetto → Auschwitz   Nowy Korczyn 4,000    1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Opoczno 3,000–4,000    Nov 1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Otwock 12,000–15,000    Dec 1939   Aug 1942     to Treblinka, and Auschwitz   Pabianice 8,500–9,000    Feb 1940   May 1942     to Łódź Ghetto → Chełmno death camp   Piaseczno 2,500    1940   Jan 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 2,500)   Piaski (transit) 10,000    1940   Nov 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp, Sobibor, Trawniki concentration camp   Piotrków Trybunalski Ghetto 25,000[29]  8 Oct 1939[21] 14 / 21 Oct 1942    to Majdanek and Treblinka (22,000),[29] killed locally also   Płock 7,000–10,000    1939–1940   Feb 1941     to Działdowo ghetto   Płońsk 12,000    Sep 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka, Auschwitz   Poddębice 1,500    Nov 1940   Apr 1942     to Treblinka(?)   Pruszków 1,400    1940   1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 1,400)   Przedbórz 4,000–5,000    Mar 1940   Oct 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp and Treblinka   Puławy 5,000    Nov – Dec 1939   1940     to Opole Lubelskie → Sobibor   Radomsko 18,000–20,000    1939 – Jan 1940   21 Jul 1943     to Treblinka extermination camp (18,000)   Radzymin 2,500    Sep 1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Serock 2,000    Feb 1940   Dec 1940     to other ghettos   Sieradz 2,500–5,000    Mar 1940   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Sierpc 500–3,000    1940   Feb 1942     to Warsaw Ghetto → Treblinka   Skaryszew 1,800    1940   Apr 1942     to Szydlowiec   Skierniewice 4,300–7,000    Dec 1940   Apr 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 7,000)   Sochaczew 3,000–4,000    Jan 1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 3,000)   Stalowa Wola 2,500    1940   Jul 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Stryj    12,000    1940–1941   Jun 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp   Szadek 500    1940   1940     to other ghettos   Szczebrzeszyn 4,000    1940 – Apr 1941   Oct 1942     to Bełżec death camp, killed locally also   Tomaszów Mazowiecki 16,000–20,000    Dec 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka (16,000), with 4,000 killed locally   Tuliszków 230    Dec 1939   Jan 1940     to Kowale Pańskie → Chełmno   Turek 5,000    1940   Oct 1941     to Kowale Pańskie ghetto (all 5,000)   Tyszowce 1,500–2,000    1940   Sep 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Uchanie 2,000    1940   Nov 1942     to Sobibor   Ulanów 500    1940   Oct 1942     to other ghettos   Uniejów 500    1940   Oct 1941     to Kowale Pańskie ghetto (all 500)   Warka 2,800    1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 2,800)   Warta 1,000–2,400    Feb 1940   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Warsaw Ghetto, see Muranów neighbourhood of Warsaw (whole) [30] 445,000    Oct – 15 Nov 1940   Sep 1942     to Treblinka extermination camp (300,000), and Majdanek, Trawniki, Poniatowa   Włocławek 4,000–13,500    Oct 1940   Apr 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Włodawa 10,500 [31] (sealed) 1941   Apr – May 1943     to Sobibor, also shot locally   Włoszczowa 4,000–6,000    Jul 1940   Sep 1942     to Treblinka   Wodzisław 4,000    Jun 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka   Wołomin 3,000–5,500    1940–1942   Apr 1943     to Treblinka   Wyszogród 2,700–3,000    Dec 1940   Nov 1942     to Treblinka   Zagórów 2,000–2,500    Jul 1940   Oct 1941     all killed locally   Zamość 12,000–14,000    1940   May 1943     to Izbica Ghetto → Bełżec, Majdanek   Zduńska Wola 8,300–10,000    1940   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Żychlin 2,800–4,000    Jul 1940   Mar 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Żyrardów 3,000–5,000    Dec 1940   Feb 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto (all 5,000) 1941
Under the codename Operation Barbarossa, Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, followed by the creation of new ghettos and mass murder of Jews by mobile killing squads.   Augustów 4,000    Oct 1941   Jun 1942     to Treblinka and Auschwitz, shot locally   Bełchatów 5,500–6,000    Mar 1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Biała Podlaska 7,000–8,400    Jul 1941   Sep 1942     to Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka   Biała Rawska 4,000    Sep 1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Białystok Ghetto 40,000–50,000    26 Jul 1941   Nov 1943     to Majdanek, Treblinka   Bielsk Podlaski 11,000–15,100    Aug 1941 Nov 1942   to Treblinka, many killed locally[32][33]   Biłgoraj 2,500–3,000    1941–1942   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Bobowa 658?[34]  Oct 1941   Aug 1942     to Gorlice and Biecz ghettos   Bochnia 14,000–15,000    Mar 1941   Sep 1943     to Szebnie → Bełżec and Auschwitz   Brześć Litewski Ghetto 18,000    16 Dec 1941   Oct 1942    5,000 shot locally before the ghetto was set up → Bronna Góra ravine [35]   Busko Zdrój 2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Chełm 8,000–12,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Sobibor   Chmielnik 10,000–14,000    Apr 1941   Nov 1942     to Treblinka   Chodel 1,400    Jun 1941   1942     to other ghettos   Chrzanów 8,000    Nov 1941   Feb 1943     to Auschwitz   Ciechanowiec 4,000    1941   Nov 1941     to Treblinka   Ciepielów 600    Dec 1941   15 / 29 Oct 1942[36]    to Treblinka → Polish rescuers killed locally 6 Dec 1942.[37]   Czeladź 800    Nov 1941   Feb 1943     to Auschwitz   Częstochowa Ghetto 48,000    9 Apr 1941   22 Sep – 9 Oct 1942     to Treblinka extermination camp   Ćmielów 1,500–2,000?[38]  1941   Oct (end) 1942     to Treblinka (900),[36] rest murdered locally   Dąbie 900    1941   Dec 1941     to Chełmno extermination camp   Dobre 500–1,000    1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka   Drohiczyn 700    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bransk and Bielsk ghettos   Drzewica 2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Dubienka 2,500–3,000    Jun 1941   Oct 1942     to other ghettos   Głogów Małopolski (120)?    1941   1942     to Rzeszów ghetto → 5,000 shot locally   Gniewoszów (open type) 6,580[39]  Dec 1941   Nov 1942     to Zwoleń (5,000); 1,000 → Treblinka   Goniądz 1,000–1,300    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bogusze ghetto   Gorlice 4,500    Oct 1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Gostynin 3,500    1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Grajewo 3,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bogusze ghetto   Hrubieszów (open type) 6,800–10,000    Jun 1941 – May 1942   May – Nov 1943    to Sobibor and Budzyn labour camp, many shot locally, 2,000 fled.[40]   Iłża 1,900–2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Inowłódz 500–600    1941   Aug 1942     to Tomaszow Mazowiecki ghetto   Iwacewicze 600    1941[41]  14 Mar 1942     to Słonim Ghetto, all killed locally   Izbica Ghetto (transit) 12,000–22,700[42]  1941[43]  2 Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp and Sobibor, 4,500 killed locally   Jasło 2,000–3,000    1941   Aug 1942     to other ghettos   Jedwabne 100–130    Jul 1941   Nov 1941     to Łomża Ghetto → Treblinka, 340 killed locally.[44]   Kalisz 400    1941   1942     to other ghettos   Kałusz 6,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp, several hundreds executed locally   Karczew 700    Mar 1941   Oct 1941     to Warsaw Ghetto   Kielce Ghetto 27,000    Mar 1941   Aug 1942     to Treblinka, with 6,000 killed locally   Kłobuck 2,000    1941   Jun 1942     to Auschwitz   Knyszyn 2,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Bialystok Ghetto   Kobryn 8,000    Jun 1941   Oct 1942     all killed locally   Kock 2,500–3,000    Jun 1941   Dec 1942     to Treblinka   Kodeń ?    Jun 1941   Sep 1942     to Miedzyrzec Podlaski Ghetto   Kolbuszowa 2,500    1941   Sep 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Koluszki 2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Końskie 10,000    1941   Jan 1943     to Treblinka   Korczyn 2,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Kraków Ghetto 20,000 (pop. 68,500)    Mar 1941   Mar 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp and Płaszów; 48,000 expelled in 1940.[45]   Kraśnik 5,000–6,000    1940–1941   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Krynki 5,000–6,000    Jun – Nov 1941   Nov 1942     to Kiełbasin transit camp → Treblinka[46]   Książ Wielki 200?[47]  1941   Nov 1942     to Miechów ghetto   Kunów 500    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Limanowa 2,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Lipsk 3,000    Dec 1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Lubartów Ghetto 3,269–4,500    Jun 1941   Oct 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Lublin Ghetto 30,000–40,000    24 Mar 1941   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp (30,000)[48] and Majdanek (4,000)   Lwów Ghetto 115,000–160,000    Jun – Nov 1941   Jun 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp and Janowska concentration camp   Łapy 600    Jun – Jul 1941   Nov 1942     to Białystok Ghetto   Łaskarzew 1,300    1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka   Łęczyca 3,000–4,300    1941   Jun 1942     to Chełmno, many killed locally   Łomża Ghetto 9,000–11,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Auschwitz, many killed locally   Łosice 5,500–6,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Treblinka   Łuków 10,000[3]  1941   Oct – Nov 1942     to Treblinka (Oct: 7,000; Nov: 3,000) [49]   Łuck Ghetto 25,000[3]  Dec 1941   19 / 24 Aug 1942     all killed locally (most at Polanka) [50]   Maków Mazowiecki 3,500–5,000    1941   Dec 1942     to Treblinka   Michałowo 1,500    1941   Nov 1942     to Bialystok Ghetto   Miechów 4,000    1941   1942     to Bełżec (1,000 killed locally)   Nowe Miasto 3,700    1941   22 Oct 1942     to Treblinka (3,000),[49] rest killed locally   Nowogródek 6,000?[47]  Jun 1941   Oct 1942     all killed locally   Nowy Sącz Ghetto 20,000    Aug 1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Nowy Targ 2,500    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Nowy Żmigród 1,300    1941   Jul 1942     all killed locally   Olkusz 3,000–4,000    1941   Jun 1942     to Auschwitz   Opatów Ghetto 10,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Opole Lubelskie 8,000–10,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Sobibor and Poniatowa ghetto   Osiek 500    1941   Jun 1942     to Ożarów ghetto → Treblinka[51]   Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski 16,000    Apr 1941   10 Jan 1943     to Treblinka[citation needed]   Ozorków 3,000–5,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Łódź Ghetto → Chełmno   Pajęczno 3,000    1941   1942     to Łódź Ghetto   Parczew 7,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Piątek ?    1941   Jul 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Pilzno 788?[34]  1941   Jun 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Pińczów 3,000–3,500    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Pionki (labor camp) 682[52]  1941   Aug 1942     to Zwoleń ghetto → Treblinka   Połaniec 2,000    1941   1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Praszka ?    1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Rabka 300    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Radom Ghetto 30,000–32,000    Mar 1941   Aug 1942     to Treblinka extermination camp   Radomyśl Wielki 1,300?[34]  1941   1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Radoszyce 3,200?[53]  1941   Nov 1942     to Treblinka   Radzyn Podlaski 2,000–3,000    1941   Dec 1942     to Treblinka   Rajgród 1,200    1941   Nov 1942     to Bogusze   Rawa Mazowiecka 4,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Rejowiec 3,000    1941   1943     to Auschwitz, Sobibor and Majdanek   Ropczyce 800    1941   Jul 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Ryki 1,800–3,500    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka and Sobibor   Rymanów 1,600?[34]  1941   Aug 1942     to Kraków Ghetto, Bełżec extermination camp, killed locally   Sędziszów Małopolski 2,000    1941   Jan 1942     to Bełżec   Siedlce Ghetto 12,000–18,000    Jun – Aug 1941   Nov 1942     to Treblinka   Siemiatycze 7,000    1941   Nov 1942     to Sobibor   Sieniawa 3,000    1941   1942     all killed locally   Siennica 700?    1941   15 Sep 1942     to Treblinka (700)[49]   Skarżysko-Kamienna 3,000    1941   1942     to Treblinka (2,500), the rest killed locally   Skrzynno ?    1941   Oct 1942     to Opoczno ghetto   Słonim Ghetto 22,000    Jul 1941   15 Jul 1942[54]    all killed locally (Jul-41: 1,200; Nov: 9,000; Jul-42: 10,000)   Słuck 3,000–8,500    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     all killed locally   Sokołów Małopolski 3,000    1941   Jul 1942     to Bełżec   Sokołów Podlaski 4,000–7,000    Jun 1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka   Sokółka 8,000–9,000    Jun 1941   Nov 1942     to Kiełbasin → Treblinka   Solec 800    1941   Dec 1942     to Tarlow ghetto   Stanisławów Ghetto 20,000    Dec 1941   Feb 1943     killed locally → to Bełżec   Starachowice 6,000    Apr 1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Stary Sącz 1,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec   Staszów 7,000    1941   Dec 1942     to Treblinka   Stopnica 5,000    1941   Nov 1942     to Treblinka, many killed locally   Strzemieszyce Wielkie 1,800[55]  1940–1941   May – 15 Jun 1942     to Będzin Ghetto (500), Auschwitz (1,400)   Strzyżów 1,300[55]  1941   26 / 28 Jun 1942     to Rzeszów ghetto, killed locally → Bełżec   Suchedniów 5,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Treblinka   Sulejów 1,500    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Szczuczyn 2,000    1941   Jul – Nov 1942     to Bogusze transit camp, killed locally   Śniadowo 650    1941   Nov 1942     to Zambrow ghetto   Tarczyn 1,600    1941   Feb 1942     to Treblinka   Tarnobrzeg (ghetto & camp) 500[56]  Jun 1941   Jul 1942     to Dębica ghetto → Bełżec   Tarnogród 2,600–5,000    1941   Nov 1942     to Bełżec from ghetto & camp, many killed locally   Tarnopol Ghetto 20,000    Jul – Aug 1941   Jun 1943     to Bełżec, many killed locally   Tarnów 40,000    Mar 1941   Sep 1943     10,000 killed locally, Bełżec (10,000), Auschwitz   Tomaszów Lubelski 1,400–1,500    1941   Oct 1942     to Bełżec   Tyczyn ?    1941   Jul 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Wadowice 1,400[57]  1941   Aug 1943     to Auschwitz   Wąwolnica 2,500    1941   May 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Węgrów 6,000–8,300    1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka   Wieliczka 7,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Wielun 4,200–7,000    1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp, killed locally   Wieruszów 1,400    1941   Aug 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Wilno Ghetto 30,000–80,000[3]  Sep 1941   Sep 1943    killed locally (21,000 before ghetto was set up)[58]   Wiślica 2,000    1941   Oct 1942     to Jędrzejów ghetto   Wolbrom 3,000–5,000    1941   Sep 1942     to Bełżec, many killed locally   Wysokie Mazowieckie 5,000    1941   Nov 1942     to Zambrow ghetto   Zabłudów 1,800[59]  Jul 1941   2 Nov 1942     10th Calvary camp near Białystok → Treblinka (1,400)   Zambrów 3,200–4,000    1941   Jan 1943     to Auschwitz, mass killings locally   Zawiercie 5,000–7,000    1941   Oct 1943     to Auschwitz (5,000)   Zelów ?    1941   Sep 1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Zwoleń (open type) 6,500–10,000[60]  1941   29 Sep 1942     to Treblinka extermination camp (8,000)[61]   Żarki 3,200    1941   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Żelechów 5,500–13,000    1941   Sep 1942     to Treblinka 1942
On January 20, 1942, at the Wannsee conference near Berlin, Reinhard Heydrich informed senior Nazi officials that "the final solution of the Jewish question" was deportation from the ghettos and subsequent mass extermination of the Jews. Implementation plan developed. Six death factories were built by German firms in occupied Poland within two-to-six months.   Andrychów 700    Sep 1942   Nov 1943     to Auschwitz concentration camp   Annopol ?    Jun 1942   Oct 1942     to Kraśnik ghetto   Baranów Sandomierski 2,000    Jun 1942   Jul 1942     to Dębica ghetto, (all)   Biecz 700–800    Apr 1942   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Czortków 4,000    Apr 1942   Sep 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp   Dąbrowa Tarnowska 2,400–3,000    Oct 1942   Sep 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp and Auschwitz   Dębica 1,500–4,000    1942   Mar 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp   Drohobycz Ghetto 10,000    Mar 1942   Jun 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp   Dubno 9,000?    Apr 1942   Oct 1942     all killed locally   Frysztak Ghetto 1,600[34]  1942   18 Aug 1942     to Jasło ghetto → killed in Warzyce forest   Hrubieszów (labor camp) 200[40]  May 1942   May 1943     to Budzyn, killed locally, see Hrubieszów # 122 above (6,800)   Jasienica Rosielna 1,500    1942   Aug 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Kołomyja (ghetto & camp) 18,000    1942   Feb 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp, many killed locally   Koprzywnica 1,800    1940   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Kowale Pańskie 3,000–5,000    1939–1942   1942     to Chełmno extermination camp   Kowel 17,000    May 1942   Oct 1942     all killed locally   Kraśnik (ghetto & camp) 5,000    1940–1942   Nov 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Krosno 600–2,500    Aug 1942   Dec 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Lesko 2,000    1942   Sep 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Lubaczów 4,200–7,000    Oct 1942   Jan 1943     to Sobibor, many killed locally   Łachwa Ghetto 2,350    4 Apr 1942   Sep 1942     killed locally, 1,500 in an uprising.[62]   Łęczna 3,000    Jun 1942   Nov 1942     to Sobibor, many killed locally   Międzyrzec Podlaski Ghetto 20,000    28 Aug 1942   18 Jul 1943[63]    to Treblinka (17,000), hundreds killed locally.[64]   Ożarów 4,500    Jan 1942   Oct 1942     to Treblinka   Pińsk Ghetto 26,200    Apr 1942   Oct 1942     to Bronna Góra (3,500), the rest killed locally   Przemyśl 22,000–24,000    Jul 1942   Sep 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp, Auschwitz, Janowska   Przeworsk 1,400?[34]  Jul 1942   Oct 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Przysucha 2,500–5,000    Jul – 15 Aug 1942   27 / 31 Oct 1942[65]    to Treblinka (5,000)[66]   Sambor Ghetto 8,000–9,000    Mar 1942   Jul 1943     to Bełżec extermination camp, many killed locally   Sosnowiec Ghetto 12,000    Oct 1942   Aug 1943     to Auschwitz   Starachowice (labor camp) 13,000    1942   1942     to Treblinka, see also Starachowice ghetto   Stryj 4,000–12,000    1942   Jun 1943     all killed locally   Sucha Beskidzka 400[67]  1942   1943     to Auschwitz   Szydłów 1,000    Jan 1942   Oct 1942     to Chmielnik ghetto   Tarnogród (labor camp) 1,000    1942   1942     see Tarnogród ghetto → Bełżec extermination camp   Tomaszów M. (labor camp) 1,000    1942   May 1943     to Starachowice,[68] see also Tomaszów Mazowiecki Ghetto (1940)   Tuchów 3,000    Jun 1942   Sep 1942     to Bełżec extermination camp   Zdzięcioł Ghetto 4,500    22 Feb 1942   30 Apr – 6 Aug 1942     killed locally during Zdzięcioł massacres

The ghetto inhabitants – most of whom were murdered during Operation Reinhard – possessed Polish citizenship before the Nazi–Soviet invasion of Poland, which in turn enabled over 150,000 Holocaust survivors registered at CKŻP to take advantage of the later repatriation agreements between the governments of Poland and the Soviet Union, and legally emigrate to the West to help form the nascent State of Israel.[69] Poland was the only Eastern Bloc country to allow free Jewish aliyah without visas or exit permits upon the conclusion of World War II.[70] By contrast, Stalin forcibly brought Soviet Jews back to USSR along with all Soviet citizens, as agreed to in the Yalta Conference.[71]

Some Jewish populations remained in the ghettos after their destruction. Many Jewish people were not able to leave the ghettos, either because they were too destitute or because they were still surrounded by Germans.[72] This resulted in many of the ghettos' inhabitants dying from harsh conditions such as exposure, lack of food, and diseases. Those who left faced the challenge of seeking a place where they as displaced people could be resettled.[73]