Dabrowa Tarnowska Jewish Cemetery

The first mention of Jews in Dąbrowa Tarnowska dates to 1661. From the 19th century, the town was the centre of a Hasidic dynasty (Dombrov Hasidim). In 1921 there were 2,099 Jews in Dąbrowa Tarnowska (78.9% of the total population), most of whom were killed in 1942 by the Germans in Bełżec.

The cemetery is located approximately 200 metres northeast of the town square, at Warszawska Street, and covers a rectangular plot of land of 2.2 hectares. According to various sources the cemetery was built at the turn of the 17th century. According to cadastral maps the area of the cemetery was expanded around the mid-19th century.

Some leaders of the Dombrov Hasidic dynasty are buried in the cemetery, including: Mordechaj Dawid Unger (died 1843), Josef Unger (died 1876), and Mosze Eliakim Unger (died 1917). During World War II the cemetery was used by the Germans as execution grounds for the local Jewish community. On July 22, 1942, some 180 Jews were shot to death there. The gradual destruction of the cemetery began around this time. On German orders, the tombstones were used to pave the courtyard of the Wehrmacht headquarters and the roads of Dąbrowa Tarnowska, and to build a swimming pool near the river Breń.

After 1945, the cemetery was managed by the local Jewish Committee, followed by the Congregation of the Jewish Faith. Tombstones found elsewhere were gradually moved back to the cemetery. Burials took place infrequently. The last people to be buried at the cemetery were Etka Roth (died 1994) and Samuel Roth (died 1995).

In 1991, thanks to the efforts of Rabbi Mendl Reichberg, the ohel was rebuilt. In 1992 Jewish immigrants from Dąbrowa Tarnowska re-fenced the cemetery. The cemetery houses approximately 100-150 tombstones (in varying physical conditions), a monument dedicated to the memory of Holocaust victims, and the ohel. The cemetery is surrounded by a low chain-link fence and it is regularly maintained. The cemetery is owned by the Jewish Society of Kraków. It is not included in the county or voivodeship Register of Historical Landmarks, nor the Register or Immovable Monuments of Małopolskie voivodeship.