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Mlawa is part of the Plock region, Warsaw.
A village with the name of Mlawa dates back to the end of the 14th century with Jews having been cited living there already in 1507. With the third partition of Poland in 1795 Mlawa was annexed to Prussia and by 1807 was included in the principality of Warsaw. In 1815 it became part of the Polish Kingdom.
The Jewish population began to develop only in the nineteenth century at which time there were about fifteen hundred Jewish families living in Mlawa.
During World War 1, with an eruption of anti-Semitism, the Mlawa community suffered greatly. Incidents of violence grew and in 1937 guards were positioned at Jewish stores to prevent Christian customers from shopping. With this growing ostracism being practiced towards the Jews, shops started closing down, affecting the economy.
Mlawa was occupied by Germany from 1915 and stayed under German rule until the end of WW1.
Several weeks before the outbreak of WW11, many Polish army units took positions in Mlawa, which was near the border with Germany, making the atmosphere very tense. As a result many of the wealthy Jews left and moved to Warsaw. In 1940, 3000 Jews were sported to Dzialdowo, Lublin and other ghettos. Mlawa was completely sealed in 1941 with 1000 Jews from Szrensk, Radazanow and Zielun accommodated I. Two windmills in the ghetto area. The population now reached 5,000.
The first public execution in Mlawa took place in April, 1942, where four young men were hanged for their treason of smuggling. People were brought in from other ghettos, Stzegowo, Circhanow and Makow Mazowiecki and in November of that year the first deportation of the elderly and sick was carried out. No carry on luggage was permitted. It is assumed they were all deported to Treblinka.
The Nazis destroyed the Mlawa Jewish Cemetry, removing tombstones and making pillars that were installed in the German camps.
After the third deportation on 17 Novemer 1942, Mlawa's ghetto was left with several hundred Jews only, allowing for the transfer of 5,000 from Makow Mazowiecki, and 1,000 from Stzegowo. All of them, now between six and seen thousand Jews were deported to Auschwitz within probably three transports. The last taking place in the Deember of 1942.
The few Jews who were left alive in Auschwitz until 1943 took part in a group for self aid for former residents of Ciechanow and environs, as well as the resistance movement of the camp. Only two managed to escape and informed the world what was happening at Auschwitz.
By the time the war ended only 40 Jews from Mlawa survived the camps.