Górowo Iławeckie Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The date of establishing the cemetery is unknown; presumably built in the mid-nineteenth century.
The facility was devastated. On October 16, 1961, the Minister of Municipal Economy – in response to the resolution of the Presidium of the Municipal National Council in Górowo Iławecka – issued a decision to close the cemetery for burial purposes, and in January 1962 (no day date) allowed the land to be used “for public utility purposes” . The documentation related to the liquidation states that its administrator is the State Land Fund, the area of the cemetery is 0.69 ha, and states: “The Jewish cemetery has no fence and has not been used since 1939. The construction of an elementary school is planned at the Jewish cemetery, which will be implemented in 1962”.
In 2006, the Cultural Center in Górowo Iławeckie, as part of the “Forgotten souls” project, fenced a fragment of the cemetery with the approximate dimensions of 10 x 45 m with a wooden fence, cleared the area and placed a stone with the inscription: “Jewish cemetery in Górowo Iławeckie”.
Within the cemetery, about 20 tombstones in the form of sandstone steles (including Jechezkiel’s son Meir, who died in 1884) and tomb lining, as well as old lime trees, probably from the pre-war period, have been preserved.
The owner of the cemetery is the City Hall of Górowo Iławeckie. The object is entered in the register of immovable monuments (entry no. 3669 of February 20, 1986).
(K. Bielawski, cmentarze-zydowskie.pl)
The necropolis was laid out on an elongated rectangular plan, the graves were placed on both sides of the central alley. The last known burial took place in the 1930s. During World War II, the Germans devastated the Jewish cemetery, i.a. with tombstones they laid the pavement at Mickiewicza Street.
Today, on the area of 0.1 ha, relics of 21 tombstones have been preserved, incl. 11 sandstone matzevot (with varying degrees of preservation), 9 tombs and 3 matzevot bases. Inscriptions in Hebrew and German are visible on the tombstones.
(sztetl.org.pl)