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Moczydly Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Poland
Region
Podlaskie Voivodeship
District
Suwałki
Settlement
Moczydły
Site address
The Jewish cemetery is situated on a small hill located between the villages of Raczki and Moczydły. Proceed south from Raczki towards Moczydły via Południowa Street and turn right onto a gravel road 100m before the intersection with Augustów-Olecko Street. The cemetery is located in a wooded area about 100m south-west of Południowa Street.
GPS coordinates
53.982592, 22.775231
Perimeter length
533 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
The majority of the cemetery area is unfenced - there are only concrete posts standing alone (1.7-1.8m high). The eastern border of the cemetery is partly fenced with an old fence in a very poor condition (wire mesh and wooden planks anchored to the concrete posts)
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The site is an unfenced (the old fence is mostly destroyed, long sections are totally demolished) and destroyed Jewish cemetery. The adjacent lands are farming fields. The northern area is covered by a dense mix of forest and scrub,which made it hard or impossible to survey. The southern part of the cemetery is a meadow, in which a few pieces of tombstones have been preserved. The cemetery is divided into two parts by a dirt road, which is an access to a local farm.
Number of existing gravestones
3 fragments of tombstones are located in the south-west corner of the cemetery. There are inscriptions in Hebrew, but no visible dates.
Date of oldest tombstone
N/A
Date of newest tombstone
N/A
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Other
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

The cemetery of the former Jewish community in Raczki is about 800 metres southwest of the market square, in the village of Moczydły, at the intersection of Południowa Street and road No. 655. It covers a rectangular plot of land with an area of 1.71 hectares. There is no information about the cemetery’s establishment date. Because of cartographic sources (including a military map from 1795-1805), it is known that the cemetery was established no later than 1805. The cemetery fell into disrepair during and after World War II. In 1964, the Minister of Municipal Economy signed an order to close the cemetery. The list of cemeteries prepared by the Provincial Office in Suwałki in 1991 states that the cemetery covered an area of 1.71 hectares, was owned by the State Treasury, was fenced with a metal mesh, the condition of the fence was bad, and there were no traces of graves or tombstones. It was recommended to cleaning the cemetery, repair the fence, and setting up an information board. In 2013, there was a plan to build a bypass to Ryczek through the part of the cemetery. The officials decided to change the route. almost all above-ground traces of the cemetery have vanished. There are only single, destroyed sandstone stelae (including the pediment of Josef, son of […] el Michel) and concrete tombs in the cemetery. The boundaries of the cemetery are imperceptible, though they are probably partly marked by concrete posts of a modern fence without a mesh. The area is covered with forest and there is no form of commemoration. The cemetery is listed in the Municipal and Provincial Register of Monuments and the Register of Immovable Monuments of the Podlaskie Province.

The first records of Jews in Raczki come from 1670. In 1911, 1,464 Jews (55.6% of the population) lived in the town, and 413 in 1938 (22.4%). Most of Raczki’s Jews were murdered during World War II.

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