Złoczew (German: 1939-45 Schlötzau) is a town in Sieradz County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,340 inhabitants (2020).

On 14 December 1605, King Sigismund III Vasa issued the charter for the new town of Złoczew.

[2] The German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, began on 1 September 1939 and the Wehrmacht entered Złoczew on 4 September 1939, when German soldiers from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), together with the soldiers of the 17th Wehrmacht Infantry Division, killed about 200 residents of the city, both Christians and Jews.

In late 1939, the Germans also expelled many Poles, including families of the mayor, parish priest, teachers, doctors, notaries, merchants and pharmacy owner.

In March 1941 hundreds of Poles were expelled and deported to a transit camp in Łódź, where they were held for several weeks and subjected to brutal searches.

[4] In April 1944, the Germans expelled 184 Poles, who were then deported to forced labor in Germany and German-occupied France.

In May or June 1942, the remaining residents, probably more than 2000, were assembled in a local church where they were held for several days with minimum food and water.

After Polish accession to the European Union the palace was renovated and is the headquarters of the town and commune of Złoczew.