Jedrzejow Jewish Cemetery

The first Jewish settlement in Jędrzejów dates back to the middle of the 19th century. In 1921, 4,585 Jews lived in the town, which was 39.1% of the total population. The majority of them were murdered by the Germans in Treblinka in 1942.

The cemetery is located around 1.3km south-east of the city center, near Spacerowa Street. The cemetery was founded in Jędrzejów in 1875. In the interwar period, it was fenced with an unplastered wall, and a funeral home stood at the entrance. In 1931, the wall and the funeral house were renovated.

During World War II, the bodies of people who died and were killed in the ghetto were buried in the cemetery, initially in individual graves, and later in a mass grave. At that time, the destruction of the cemetery began. Under the orders of the Germans, some matzevot were torn out from the ground and used to pave the streets. The local population also took part in the destruction. The destruction process continued in the post-war period. The sand was taken from the cemetery, rubbish was stored there, and some residents used tombstones for construction purposes.

The last burial likely took place in November 1945, following the murder of two Holocaust survivors in Jędrzejów.

Almost all the above-ground elements of the cemetery were destroyed. The boundaries of the burial area are invisible. The area is covered with grass and shrubs. Within the cemetery, there are single fragments of matzevot and concrete frames of graves. In recent years, in the north-eastern corner, a plaque was placed with the inscription: “The Jewish cemetery established in the first half of the 19th century. Closed for burial purposes”.

Some matzevot are embedded in the structure of the bridge under Jasionka Street. A fragment of a tombstone is in the Museum of the Przewkowski Family in Jędrzejów. Since 2015, local activists have been carrying out cleaning works at the cemetery.

The owner of the cemetery is the State Treasury. The facility has been entered into the Provincial and Municipal Register of Monuments.