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Mszczonow Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Poland
Region
Masovian Voivodeship
District
Żyrardów
Settlement
Mszczonow
Site address
26, Księcia Poniatowskiego Street.
GPS coordinates
51.9805982, 20.5110991
Perimeter length
510 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
The cemetery is fenced with a brick and iron fence (2m high). The cemetery has underwent renovation works funded by the descendants of local families in cooperation with FODZ in 2007.
Preservation condition
Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The Jewish cemetery of Mszczonow is situated on the north western outskirts of the town. The cemeteries eastern and southern borders are Księcia Poniatowskiego Street and Road E67; the cemetery area is adjacent to agricultural fields from the north and west. The cemetery site is a meadow, overgrown with tall wild grasses. The area is fenced and maintained, although a small part of the historical cemetery area is now overbuilt (the north-eastern corner). More than 200 tombstones have been preserved.
Number of existing gravestones
200. According to other sources, more than 200 tombstones have been preserved in their original places. Unfortunately, our field team was unable to gain access to the cemetery. A list of the tombstones is available at https://cemetery.jewish.org.pl/list/c_15
Date of oldest tombstone
1772, 1775
Date of newest tombstone
1939
Urgency of erecting a fence
Fence is not needed
Land ownership
Other
Preserved construction on site
Ohel.
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

The first records of Jews in Mszczonów date to the 17th century, though the organized Jewish community was only established in the second half of the following century. There was a local Hasidic dynasty in the town (Amshinov Hasidim). Hirsz Dawid Nomberg, a writer, journalist, and Member of Parliament, also came from Mszczonów. 5,106 Jews lived in the town in 1910 (63.8% of the entire population), and 2,188 in 1921 (43.6%), most of whom were deported to the Warsaw Ghetto in 1941 and murdered a year later in Treblinka. The cemetery is located approximately 700 metres north of Nowy Rynek, on Poniatowskiego Street and the E67 route. It was established in 1763 on a square plot measuring “70 x 70 ells.” In 1927, it measured 103 x 111 x 128 x 133 metres (m). The entrance was on Poniatowskiego Street, in the south-eastern corner and there was a funeral house at the gate with base dimensions of 17 x 5 m.

The cemetery has suffered significant damage and was closed for burials in 1964. In the 1980’s, there was an illegal playground in the cemetery. Geodetic plot no. 40/4 was separated from the area of the cemetery and partially built over. Currently, there are only about a hundred tombstones that have survived within the cemetery, the oldest of which date to 1772, 1778, 1784, 1788, and 1791. At the beginning of the 21st century, the cemetery (except for plot no. 40/4) was fenced and cleaned up. The ohel over the graves of Rebbe Jakow Dawid, son of Izrael Icchak from Warka, (who died on November 10, 1877) and Aharon ha-Kohen, son of Mosze—a dayan (judge) from Nadarzyn and son-in-law of Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Warka, (who died on August 25, 1873)—was rebuilt. The work was commissioned by Renata Singer, Rabbi Joseph Singer, the Boim family, and the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage. The owner of the cemetery is the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage. The cemetery is listed in the Register of Immovable Monuments of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship (No. 877 A, March 20, 1992). A list containing information about 77 preserved tombstones is available at https://cemetery.jewish.org.pl/list/c_15/ile_0.

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