Bledow Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
Jews began to settle in Błędów in the second half of the 19th century. At that time, Rabbi Jakow Icchak Szapiro, son of Rebbe Chaim Meir Jechiel Szapiro of Mogielnica (author of the book “Prawda Jakowa”), resided in Błędów. In 1921, 815 Jews lived in the village – approximately 43.4% of the village’s total population. In February 1941, the Jews of Błędów were deported to the Warsaw Ghetto.
The cemetery is located about 800 metres northwest of Nowy Rynek, at Nowy Świat Street. The cemetery was likely established in the 19th century. The cemetery has sustained significant damage. Some residents of Błędów and the surrounding villages participated in its destruction, using the tombstones for construction material and for grinding wheels. In the period of the Polish People’s Republic, the southern part of the cemetery was used as a gravel mine, and then as a shooting range. The above-ground traces of the cemetery have disappeared.
The cemetery records from 1985 state that: “There are no elements characteristic for a Jewish cemetery. The terrain is overgrown with meadow, and also serves as a garbage dump. The concrete gateposts suggest the existence of the fence. The area does not function as a cemetery in the public awareness.”
In 1996, the Social Committee for the Reconstruction of the Jewish Cemetery in Błędów was established by local veterinarian Józef Grudziąż, and Krzysztof Lubowiecki and Rabbi Tom Trier, both from Denmark. With the financial support of the Błędów Commune, the Committee cleaned up the northern part of the cemetery, enclosed it with a fence made of prefabricated concrete panels, and with a steel gateway decorated with the Stars of David. In 1998, several dozen destroyed matzevot were found in the village and brought to the cemetery. A monument in the form of a concrete slab with the symbol of the menorah was also erected. In 2004, unidentified perpetrators smashed the monument and destroyed part of the fence.
Currently, the cemetery is regularly cleaned up by the Błędów Commune Office. The cemetery is listed in the Provincial Register of Monuments.