Jordanow Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
Jordanów was granted town rights in 1564. It was known as a centre for linen, pottery, cattle, and salt trade. Until 1744, Jews were limited by trade bans, and therefore Jewish settlement did not begin to emerge on a larger scale until the end of the 18th century. In 1921, 238 Jews lived in Jordanów and constituted 16% of the total population. In the 1930’s the Jewish population increased to 354 people. During World War II, the Germans established a ghetto in the town, the liquidation of which began on August 28, 1942. Approximately 400 Jews from Jordanów were transported to the death camp in Bełżec. Many died on the spot, including those shot at the Jewish cemetery.
The cemetery is in the Mąkacz district, among arable fields behind the gas station, near the E-28 road, ahead of the turn to Bystra Podhalańska. It covers an area of about 0.6 hectares. It was most likely established in the first half of the 19th century and was initially also used by Jews from Sucha Beskidzka, Maków Podhalański, and Zawoja. Today, there are several damaged, standing tombstones, and many scattered fragments of matzevot which have been preserved in the cemetery, though they are difficult to find among the thick vegetation. There are inscriptions in Hebrew, Polish, and Yiddish on the preserved fragments of the stelae. The cemetery area is partially fenced by a pre-war fence, preserved on three sides, with parts of decorative plaster and glass from 19th-century bottles at the top. The nearby ruins of foundations are most likely the remains of a pre-war funeral house.
The cemetery was destroyed during World War II. The cemetery suffered further damage after the war and some tombstones were removed and used for construction purposes. On the left side of the entrance, there is an unmarked grave of Jews exhumed from the Strącze district and reburied in the cemetery who were murdered by the Nazis during the liquidation of the ghetto in 1942. The cemetery is listed in the Register of Monuments of the Małopolskie Province.
