Kałuszyn New Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The first confirmed records of Jews in Kałuszyn date to the second half of the 18th century. In 1921, 5,033 Jews lived in the town (82% of the entire population), most of whom were killed in 1942 by the Germans. After the war, several survivors were murdered in the town. The cemetery is in the eastern part of the city, between Warszawska Street and Martyrologii Street. It covers an irregular plot of land with an area of 3.53 or 3.96 hectares (ha). There is no information about its establishment date, though it was probably established at the turn of the 20th century. During World War II, the cemetery was used for carrying out executions. In 1941, the Germans shot 12 Jews there. In September 1942, they murdered between several hundred to about a thousand people. The cemetery was seriously damaged around this time, and it continued to fall into further disrepair in the following decades. All the tombstones were removed from the cemetery and the fence was torn down. Part of the area was used for a dirt road.
On October 9, 1964, the Minister of Municipal Economy—following a resolution of the Presidium of the City National Council in Kałuszyn—signed an order to close the cemetery. The accompanying documentation states the following: “The area is 3.96 ha. The cemetery has been closed since 1943, neglected and abandoned.” In 1979, the local authorities planned to designate the cemetery “for agricultural development,” and then in 1983, to build a sports field. In 1987, the Town and Commune Office cleaned up the cemetery and took care of the afforestation, fencing, and commemoration. In 2017, at the initiative of Jews from Kałuszyn, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in cooperation with the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad erected a monument in the cemetery. The area is not fenced, and the borders are partially visible. The cemetery is overgrown with grass and bushes. Within the cemetery, there is the monument from 2017 and a part of a sandstone stele. Several discovered matzevot are in the collection of a private collector. Some tombstones are placed at the entrance to the church in Kałuszyn. The owner of the cemetery is the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage.