During World War II, Lublin, a city in eastern Poland, experienced significant upheaval and tragedy. Following the invasion of Poland in September 1939, the city was occupied by the Soviet Union under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. However, in June 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, invading the Soviet territories, including Lublin.

Under German occupation, the Jewish population of Lublin, which was substantial, faced severe persecution. The Nazis implemented anti-Jewish measures, including forced relocation into a ghetto established in 1941. In 1942, during the Grossaktion Lublin, thousands of Jews were deported from the ghetto to extermination camps, such as Belzec, leading to the deaths of the majority of Lublin's Jewish community. 

Lublin also became a significant location for the Nazis' war efforts. The Majdanek concentration and extermination camp was located just outside the city. Established in 1941, Majdanek was initially a labor camp but later evolved into a site of mass murder, where tens of thousands of people, including Jews, Poles, and Soviet prisoners of war, were killed. 

In July 1944, Lublin was liberated by the Soviet Red Army, marking the end of the Nazi occupation. The war left deep scars on the city and its population, as well as the Holocaust's devastating impact on Lublin's Jewish community. After the war, Lublin was rebuilt, and today, memorials and museums serve to remember those who suffered during this dark period. 

I took a train from Warsaw to Lublin. I spent most of my time exploring Belzec, Sobibor, Josefow and Majdanek. I only had a short time to visit Lublin. It's a beautiful area filled with historic riches.