Kety Jewish Cemetery

Jews began to settle in Kęty after 1850. In 1921, 329 Jews lived in the town, most of whom were killed during World War II. The cemetery is located about 1.8 km north-east of the city centre, at Kęckie Góry Północne Street and covers a plot shaped like an elongated triangle, with an area of 1578 square metres. The plot of land for the cemetery was purchased in 1892. A year later, the ownership of the plot was granted to the Ansza Emes Progressive Ritual and Religious Association in Kęty. Before 1939, the cemetery was fenced, and there was a funeral house at the entrance. The cemetery was devastated during World War II and in the following decades. Some tombstones were stolen and some were reused as tombstones at the communal cemetery. On November 4, 1964, the Minister of Municipal Economy signed an order to close the cemetery. After 1988, at the initiative of Henry Kanner, cleaning projects were carried out in the cemetery. The overturned tombstones were placed vertically, and broken pieces of tombstones were attached to the retaining wall. In the central section of the cemetery, a small monument depicting the symbol of the menorah was erected. The fence was repaired and, in the south-eastern corner, the funeral house was rebuilt. There are about 60 tombstones in the cemetery in various conditions. The oldest identified tombstone is a double tombstone with an inscription plate damaged by corrosion, with legible parts of the epitaph reading rter, Juli 1894″. The latest tombstone commemorates Gustaw Leider, who died on August 26, 1937. There are three contemporary monuments in the cemetery, erected in the early 1990’s. The cemetery is one of the best maintained Jewish cemeteries in Poland. Cleaning projects are carried out regularly, and particular attention is paid to clearing vegetation. The area is surrounded by a wall and partly by a metal fence. The owner of the cemetery is the Jewish Community in Bielsko-Biała. The cemetery is listed in the Register of Immovable Monuments of the Małopolskie Voivodeship.