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The Kielce Pogrom was an outbreak of violence against the Jewish community centre' gathering of refugees in the city of Kielce, Poland on 4 July 1946 in the presence of the Polish Communist armed forces (LWP, KBW) which resulted in the killing of 42 Jews. Polish Communist courts later tried and condemned nine people to death in connection with the incident. Numerous academic sources assert that the massacre was instigated by the Soviet-backed Communist security corps, possibly for propaganda purposes, attempting to discredit Poland's anti-Communist stance and to maintain totalitarian control over the country. Because the top-secret case files were destroyed, the academic inquiry is ongoing with regard to possible secret coordination with the NKVD by the Polish authorities. In 2001–04 the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) conducted an investigation into the pogrom and closed the case stating (without entering into details) that the events of 4 July 1946 were a result of a mishap. Another communiqué published by the IPN two years later confirmed only that four decades after the fact the remaining paper trail was still being destroyed by the pro-Soviet security police under Gen. Czesław Kiszczak.
As the deadliest pogrom against Polish Jews after the Second World War, the incident was a significant point in the post-war history of Jews in Poland. It took place only a year after the end of the Second World War and the Holocaust, shocking Jews in Poland, Poles, and the international community. It has been considered a catalyst for the flight from Poland of most remaining Polish Jews who had survived the Holocaust.