During the most deadly phase of the Holocaust in Poland on January 16, 1942, the SS and police began deportations from the Łódź Ghetto to the Chełmno extermination camp nearby. German officials transported the Jews from Łódź by train to Koło railway station, six miles (10 km) northwest of Chełmno. There, the SS and police personnel supervised transfer of the Jews from the freight as well as passenger trains,[3] to smaller-size cargo trains running on a narrow-gauge track, which took them from Koło to the Powiercie station.[4]
Beginning in late July 1942, the victims were brought to the camp directly after the regular railway line linking Koło with Dąbie was restored; the bridge over the Rgilewka River had been repaired.[5] As round-ups in Łódź normally took place in the morning, it was usually late afternoon by the time the victims arrived by rail. Therefore, they were marched to a disused mill at Zawadki some two kilometres from Powiercie where they spent the night. The mill continued to be used after the railway repairs, if transports arrived late.[6] The following morning the Jews were transported from Zawadki by truck, in numbers which could be easily controlled at their destination point. They were "processed" immediately upon arrival at the manor-house camp.[7]
Poland
