Sochocin Jewish Cemetery

Jewish settlement in Sochocin began to develop in the post-partition period. In 1808, 67 Jews lived in the village, and 624 in 1857. By 1921, the number of Jews in Sochocin had decreased to 406. A common source of income for the Jews was the manufacture and sale of buttons made of shell. In the first months of World War II, the Germans deported all Jewish residents from Sochocin, most of whom died in the following years.

The cemetery is located about 1.3 km south-east of the town centre, about 150 metres south-west of Szkolna Street. The first recorded mention of its existence dates to 1861, in correspondence concerning the independence of Sochocin Jews from the synagogue supervision in Płońsk. In a letter dated May 17, 1861, the Administrative Department of the Płock Governorate stated that the Sochocin Jews had a cemetery. In a report by the same office dated May 20, 1863, the cemetery was described as follows: “The Jewish cemetery in the town of Sochocin is 68 1/2 ell long and 48 1/2 ell wide, fenced and was founded thanks to voluntary donations.” During World War II, the cemetery gradually fell into disrepair. The fence and almost all the tombstones were removed. Until at least the 1960’s, there were several damaged tombstones in the cemetery. In the spring of 2016, only parts of tombstones were found.

In 2016-2018, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in cooperation with ESJF and the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, fenced the cemetery with a wall made of concrete prefabricated elements. There are information boards and a plaque with the names of people who are buried in the cemetery placed on the fence. The cleaning and restoration works were carried out at the initiative of the descendants of Icchak Kawa (Isidore Berenstein). The common of land is the owner of the cemetery. The cemetery is listed in the Provincial Register of Monuments, and it is not listed in the Register of Immovable Monuments.