Media Essay

The Kielce Pogrom: A Blood Libel Massacre of Holocaust Survivors - Photograph

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Kielce pogroms aftermath of the Holocaust antisemitism

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Burial of victims of the Kielce pogrom

Mourners crowd around a narrow trench as coffins of pogrom victims are placed in a common grave, following mass burial service.

Mourners crowd around a narrow trench as coffins of pogrom victims are placed in a common grave, following a mass burial service. Kielce, Poland, after July 4, 1946.

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Aftermath of the Kielce pogrom

A woman mourns by the coffins of Jews who died in the Kielce pogrom.

A woman mourns by the coffins of Jews who died in the Kielce pogrom. Poland, July 6, 1946.

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Coffins containing bodies of Jews killed in the Kielce pogrom

Coffins containing bodies of Jews killed in the Kielce pogrom.

Coffins containing bodies of Jews killed in the Kielce pogrom. Poland, July 6, 1946.

The mass violence of the Kielce pogrom drew on an entrenched local history of antisemitism–especially false allegations accusing Jews of using the blood of Christian children for ritual purposes (a charge known as a “blood libel”)–with the intent of discouraging the return of Jewish Holocaust survivors to Poland.

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Funeral procession for victims of the Kielce pogrom

Funeral procession for victims of the Kielce pogrom.

Funeral procession for victims of the Kielce pogrom. Kielce, Poland, July 1946.

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Burial of victims of the Kielce pogrom

Mourners and local residents shovel dirt into the mass grave of the victims of the Kielce pogrom during the public burial.

Mourners and local residents shovel dirt into the mass grave of the victims of the Kielce pogrom during the public burial.

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