Grodzisk Mazowiecki Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
Jews began to settle in Grodzisk Mazowiecki in the 18th century. In 1808, 317 Jews (87.1% of the total population) lived in the town, and, by 1921, the population had grown to 2,756 Jews (though only constituting 24.5% of the total population). In 1941, the Germans deported the Jews of Grodzisk Mazowiecki to the Warsaw Ghetto, most of whom were later killed in Treblinka in 1942.
The cemetery is located about 600 metres (m) northeast of the city centre, on the west side of Żydowska Street. The cemetery was established in the second half of the 18th century. In 1845, it was fenced with a wooden fence, and it covered a plot of about 70 x 104 m. At the end of the 19th century, the area of the cemetery was expanded and fenced with a wall. In 1929 and 1934, further land was purchased. Ultimately, the length of the land of the cemetery was about 310 m, and its width at the narrower, northern end was about 62 m. During World War II, the Germans carried out executions at the cemetery. The gradual destruction of the cemetery began around this time and continued through the following decades. After 1945, the cemetery was taken over by the Communal Cooperative “Samopomoc Chłopska,” and most of the area was taken over by various companies for different uses, such as for a scrapyard.
In 1988, the Social Committee for Restoration and Reconstruction of the Jewish Cemetery fenced off and cleaned up part of the cemetery. In 2016, the authorities of Grodzisk Mazowiecki leased the area and demolished its fence and some buildings. Within the fenced part of the cemetery, which has an area of approximately 0.28 hectares, there are about 200 tombstones in various states of preservation (a partial list is available at https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/g/412-grodzisk-mazowiecki/ 115-memory-w-stone / 13680-Jewish-cemetery-in-grodzisk-mazowieckie-ul-zydowska). In the remaining area, there is a square with partially demolished buildings. The boundaries of the cemetery are partially visible as the wall and the pre-war gate are still standing, as well as some contemporarily arranged granite boulders. Since 2009, the cemetery is maintained by local community workers with the support of the city authorities. Court proceedings to establish the ownership of the land are still pending. The part of the cemetery that was fenced in 1988 is listed in the Register of Immovable Monuments.
