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Ciepielow Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Poland
Region
Masovian Voivodeship
District
Lipski
Settlement
Ciepielów
Site address
The Jewish cemetery is situated along the southern side of road Szkolna, the western border of the cemetery area is adjacent to 18, Szkolna Street.
GPS coordinates
51.2463, 21.58008
Perimeter length
254 meters
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Demolished Jewish cemetery that has not been built over
General site condition
The Jewish Cemetery of Ciepielów is situated on the eastern outskirts of the town. The cemetery area is adjacent to the Szkolna Road from the north, residential properties from the eastern and southern sides and a farming field from the west. Part of the cemetery is a wood yard and the rest is badly overgrown with tall wild grasses and bushes. No traces of the cemetery have been preserved, the site has no information board or any other commemoration.
Number of existing gravestones
Our field team found one standing stone with no inscriptions, that may have been a tombstone.
Date of oldest tombstone
N/A
Date of newest tombstone
N/A
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Private
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

The first records of Jews in Ciepielów date to the 16th century, and, by the 17th century, there was a religious community in the village. A significant increase in Jewish settlement began in the second half of the 18th century. In 1921, 339 Jews lived in the village (34.7% of the total population), most of whom were killed at the end of 1942 by the Germans in Treblinka. The cemetery is located about 400 metres southeast of the market square, on the south side of Szkolna Street, and covers a plot of land shaped like a rectangle. It is likely that it was established at the end of the 18th century, though the exact date is unknown. Its location was marked on the Topographic Charter of the Kingdom of Poland published in 1839. Another record confirming the existence of the cemetery is a crossed-out written record on expenses (“for the repair of the cemetery according to the estimated budget”). Revenues from funerals were also recorded in 1846.

In 1870 the cemetery was fenced, and its value was estimated at 15 rubles. In a letter from the Iłża Poviat Starosty dated January 4, 1928 and located in the list of properties owned by the Jewish community in Ciepielów, it is written that there was “a square for a cemetery with an area of 100 rods worth 300 zlotys.” In 1930, the condition of the cemetery was assessed as good. The degradation of the cemetery likely began during the war and continued throughout the following decades. All the tombstones were removed, and the fence was pulled down. On November 12, 1962, the Presidium of the Municipal National Council in Ciepielów adopted a resolution to close the cemetery, which, at that time, had an area of 0.25 hectares. The ordinance was signed by the Minister of Municipal Economy on June 26, 1964. Currently, the area of the cemetery is covered with a meadow and there also is a sawmill. There are no tombstones, and the boundaries of the cemetery are imperceptible. There is no form of commemoration of any kind. According to data from the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, the owner of the cemetery is the State Land Fund. The cemetery is listed in the Provincial Register of Monuments.

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