Gowarczow Jewish Cemetery

The first recorded mention of Gowarczów dates to 1361. The town was founded under the Magdeburg Law by Władysław Jagiełło in 1430 and was originally an agricultural town. The town’s other source of income was through trade with Silesia and Moravia. The active development of the Jewish community is reflected in records since the mid-17th century. In poll tax registers, taxes in 1662 were paid by 33 Jewish families. In 1676, there were 46 Jewish families. The community then owned a synagogue, a cheder, a mikvah, and a cemetery located on the road to Rogówek. In 1767, Antoni Jabłonowski, the owner of the town, granted the Jews additional trade privileges. The nail industry and the iron trade also developed in Gowarczów. In 1827, Jews constituted 43.6% of the total population (457 people). One hundred years later—as a result of economic collapse and growing anti-Semitism—the Jewish population decreased to 33.7% of the total population (508 people). During World War II, about a thousand Jews from Gowarczów and its vicinity were deported and murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp.

The exact date of the Jewish cemetery’s foundation is unknown, though it is likely that it was established in the mid-17th century (before 1662). It was situated south-east of the town, on a small hill, near Aleja Wyzwolenia Street. In 1934, there was a brick fence in good condition surrounding the cemetery. The cemetery covered an area of approximately 0.5 hectares. The last burial in the cemetery was recorded in 1942. The cemetery was destroyed during World War II, and after the war, in the 1980’s, it was used as a pasture. There are no tombstones left within the cemetery. The layout of burials is indiscernible, and the area is covered with grass and thickets. The cemetery is listed in the Municipal and Provincial Register of Monuments.