Mielnik Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The Mielnik cemetery is located about 1.5 kilometers northeast of the town center in the forest and off of Biała Street. It is a quadrilateral plot with an area of 0.7 hectares. The OMP Mielnickie Zakłady Kredowe company is located in the vicinity of the cemetery. The date when the cemetery was founded is unknown. It was probably established in the mid-19th century.
The cemetery has experienced far-reaching devastation. During the period of the People’s Republic of Poland, the plot was taken over by the State Treasury. In 1972, the local authorities adopted a resolution to close the cemetery. Currently, there are over a dozen tombstones in the form of steles made of granite fieldstones dating back to 1895–1919, as well as concrete and stone tombstone bases within the cemetery. From the south, relics of a stone wall are visible. There is no fence nor any form of commemoration. The area is covered with a mixed forest. The facility is listed in the Provincial Register of Monuments.
The first records of the presence of Jews in Mielnik date back to 1533, but the significant development of the local Jewish community only began in the 19th century. In 1807, 43 Jews lived in Mielnik, in 1878, 460 Jews. In 1921, there were 233 Jews (12% of the total population). Most of them were murdered by the Germans at Treblinka in 1942.
