Lopuszno Jewish Cemetery

Łopuszno is a village located on the route from Kielce to Częstochowa, and which dates to the mid-14th century. Jewish settlement began to develop in the 18th century and, from that time onward, there was an active Jewish community in the town.

In the 1820’s, there were about 300 inhabitants in Łopuszno, including 47 Jews. The owners of the village—Franciszek Dobiecki and Eustachy Dobiecki—supported Jewish settlement in their lands. In 1840, the Jewish community numbered between 180-200 people. In 1928, there were 750 Jews, and 682 in 1937. A year before the war, Jews constituted 74% of the local population. In 1940, Jews from nearby villages were resettled to Łopuszno. In September 1942, all Jews from the ghetto were deported to Chęciny and then to the death camp in Treblinka. The Jewish cemetery was most probably established in the 18th century and was located in the southwestern part of the town, in the Ludwików hamlet. It covers geodesic plot no. 353 with an area of 0.4336 hectares. In the interwar period, the cemetery was fenced. During World War II, the Germans destroyed the cemetery, and the tombstones were used to pave the front of the gendarmerie station at the market square. Executions were also carried out in the cemetery. Currently, the area is covered with forest, unmarked, and no tombstones have survived.