Lvov

SOVIETS OCCUPY LVOV September 17, 1939 Under the conditions of the German-Soviet Pact, Soviet forces occupy eastern Poland, including the city of Lvov in southeastern Poland. They annex the area to the Soviet Union. Lvov has a Jewish population of about 110,000. This is the third largest Jewish community in prewar Poland. As Soviet forces take over the city, nearly 100,000 Jewish refugees from German-occupied western Poland crowd into Lvov and its environs. GERMAN FORCES MOVE INTO LVOV June 30, 1941 Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, German military forces occupy Lvov. Ukrainian nationalists, encouraged by German forces, stage a violent pogrom against the Jews. Within the next four weeks, the Ukrainians and Germans will kill 4,000 Jews in the city. STAR OF DAVID BADGES ORDERED July 8, 1941 The German military authorities in Lvov order Jews aged fourteen and over to wear a white badge with a blue Star of David on their right arm. JEWISH COUNCIL APPOINTED July 22, 1941 The German military authorities make final appointments to the Jewish council (Judenrat; the Nazi-appointed Jewish communal organization) in Lvov. Seven prominent Jews become members of the Jewish council. Josef Parnes, formerly a lawyer, becomes the chairman. In November 1941, the Germans will execute Parnes for his refusal to turn over Jews for forced labor. PETILURA DAYS POGROM July 25, 1941 In a three-day pogrom, pro-German Ukrainian nationalists kill nearly 2,000 Jews in Lvov. The pogrom is referred to as the Petliura Days--named for Simon (Semyon) Petliura, who had organized anti-Jewish pogroms in the Ukraine after World War I. FORCED-LABOR REQUIREMENTS October 2, 1941 German SS selects 500 Jewish men to be forced laborers for the German Armament Works stationed in Lvov. These workers will also be used for the construction of a forced-labor camp on Janowska Street in Lvov. GERMANS ORDER ESTABLISHMENT OF GHETTO November 8, 1941 The German civilian administration issues an order to establish a ghetto in Lvov. The Germans set a deadline of December 15, 1941, for sealing the ghetto. Gentiles residing in the area designated for the ghetto have to move into other areas of the city. German police will shoot nearly 5,000 elderly and sick Jews as they cross Peltewna Street on their way to the ghetto. DEPORTATIONS TO BELZEC March 14, 1942 The SS in Lvov begins a roundup of Jews for deportation to the Belzec extermination camp located in the Lublin district, Poland. By April 1, the SS will have deported over 15,000 Jews from Lvov to Belzec. On arrival in Belzec, nearly all the Jews will be gassed or shot. Those selected to work are forced to facilitate the killing process by compelling Jewish victims to detrain and undress, and by removing corpses from the gas chambers. JEWS SENT TO JANOWSKA LABOR CAMP August 10, 1942 German SS and police authorities, supported by Ukrainian auxiliaries, begin rounding up thousands of Jews in the Lvov ghetto. By August 23, The Germans and their auxiliaries will round up about 50,000 Jews and take them to the Janowska forced-labor camp, from where they will deport the majority of the Jews to the Belzec extermination camp. GHETTO SEALED September 1, 1942 The Lvov ghetto is sealed. On the same day, German and Ukrainian police publicly hang Henryk Landesberg, chairman of the Lvov Jewish council, several Jewish council members, and a number of Jewish policemen. JEWS ARRESTED IN GHETTO November 18, 1942 The SS and police, supported by auxiliary police units, enter the Lvov ghetto and seize several thousand Jews whom they consider to be "unproductive." They deport the Jews to the Belzec extermination camp. The Germans issue work permits to many of the remaining Jews in the ghetto. LVOV CLASSIFIED AS LABOR CAMP January 5, 1943 SS and police units enter the Lvov ghetto and seize Jews who don't possess work permits. By January 7, the German SS transports over 10,000 Jews, among them many members of the Lvov Jewish council, to Piaski, a ravine outside the city where these Jews are shot. The SS then reclassifies the Lvov ghetto as a forced-labor camp. German authorities will dissolve the Jewish council in Lvov by the end of the month. EXECUTIONS AT PIASKI March 17, 1943 The SS seizes over 1,000 Jews from the Janowska forced-labor camp and shoots them at the nearby Piaski ravine. DESTRUCTION OF LVOV LABOR CAMP June 1, 1943 The destruction of the Lvov labor camp begins. German SS and police, supported by auxiliaries, surround the area. They meet with armed resistance when they attempt to enter the camp area. Jewish resisters kill or wound several policemen. SS and police personnel blow up buildings or set them on fire to force the Jews out of the camp. About 7,000 Jews are taken to Janowska camp and shot at the Piaski ravine behind the camp. Nearly 3,000 more Jews are killed in the city during the liquidation. The Germans declare the operation complete the next day. SOVIET FORCES LIBERATE LVOV July 26, 1944 Soviet forces liberate the city of Lvov.