Komarowka Podlaska Old Jewish Cemetery

Komarówka Podlaska was established in the mid-17th century. It was granted a private town charter in 1662 or 1772. At the beginning of the 18th century, 24 Jewish families lived in Komarówka Podlaska, and they maintained a modest prayer house (location unknown). In 1820, there were 79 Jews among 335 inhabitants (23% of the total population), and in 1921, 412 Jews lived among 1,038 inhabitants (40% of the total population). During World War II, the Germans destroyed the Jewish community buildings and, in 1942, Jews in the Komarówka Ghetto were deported to other ghettos in various towns in the Podlasie Region, and then to Treblinka.

The first Jewish cemetery in Komarówka Podlaska is located about 250 metres south of the market square. This close distance to the town centre indicates that it may have been established at the beginning of the 18th century. There is no information about its history, period of use (though presumably it was in use until the 19th century), or its original appearance. The cemetery was devastated during World War II. The preserved area of cemetery is shaped like an irregular polygon (like a triangle), covering 0.24 hectares, and is covered with grass. In the northern part of the cemetery, there is a section separated by a new wooden fence where twelve tombstones were brought and placed at random. There are 11 tombstones made of granite erratic boulders and one of sandstone stele, the oldest of which dates to 1787, and the most recent of which dates to 1888 (the date of the new cemetery’s establishment is unknown; therefore, it is not known whether they all come from that cemetery). In 2018, a row of deciduous tree seedlings was planted along the wooden fence.