Malogoszcz Jewish Cemetery

Małogoszcz was functioning as a town from the 12th century and was granted town privileges in 1408. From 1775–1862, Jews were forbidden to settle there, living mainly in areas surrounding the town (e.g., in the village of Łopuszno) and, in the second half of the 19th century, they constituted only 2% of the town’s inhabitants (28 people). After restrictions on Jewish settlement were lifted, the Jewish community grew rapidly. In 1921, there were 415 Jews, constituting 18.9% of the total population. Before the war, in 1938, the Jewish community numbered 1,050 people. In 1941, a ghetto was established in Małogoszcz, which was in existence until August 28, 1942. Approximately 830 people were deported to the death camp in Treblinka, and about 300 to the Jedrzejów Ghetto and the labour camp in the quarry in Buków, and then to Auschwitz.

The Jewish cemetery was established in the 1880’s, as the Jewish community in Małogoszcz grew and organized (the noted year is 1882). It covered an area of 0.19 hectares and was enlarged in 1925. It was located south of the town, on the right side of the road leading to Jędrzejów, at the level of the Głuchowiec quarry. In 1929–1932, the cemetery was fenced with a stone wall. About 70 matzevot made of Chęciny marble, limestone, conglomerate, and sandstone have survived in the cemetery, most of which date to the turn of the 20th century. Many of them still stand by the original burial places, making the internal layout of the cemetery, including the division between the male and female sections, visible. In the post-war period, a symbolic tombstone was also erected to commemorate those murdered in the concentration camps. Fragments of the fence have also survived. The cemetery was partially destroyed during World War II and continued to fall into disrepair after the war. The cemetery is overgrown and neglected.