Praszka, Poland

Members of the Boys were born in Praska in Poland.

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

Members of the Boys were held in Nazi labour and concentration camps and used as slave labourers. They had also survived World War II in hiding or as lone children.

^{Praszka synagogue before World War II.}

Praszka is in southern Poland. According to the 1921 census, the town had a population of 4,478, a third of whom were Jewish.

^{The Boys from Praszka. These photographs were taken after World War II.}

In September 1939, Praska was occupied by Germany. The Jewish population were forced into a ghetto, and then murdered. Most were deported to the Chełmno extermination camp where they were immediately gassed. Others were murdered in the town or at the Jewish cemetery. To find out more about the Praszka Ghetto click here.

Only about 10 of Praszka’s pre-war Jewish population is thought to have survived the war.

Visiting Praszka

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Getting there To get to Praszka take the bus from Częstochowa or Wieluń.

What to See

Synagogue (27 Piłsudskiego Street) The synagogue was built around 1850 in a Neo-Classical style. It was reconstructed in 1964 and remains one of the two primary Jewish heritage sites preserved in the town.
Jewish Cemetery (Wyszyńskiego Street) The cemetery covers approximately 1.25 hectares. Although destroyed during WWII, it contains a commemorative stone plaque (erected in 1993) marking a mass grave of Jews murdered during the ghetto’s liquidation in August 1942.