Nowe Miasto nad Pilica Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The first records of Jews in Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą date to the 17th century. In 1697, after accusations of ritual murder (blood libel), Jews were expelled from the town. Jewish settlement began to develop once again in the next century. In 1754, there was a religious community in the town. In 1921, 1,667 Jews lived in Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą (44% of the entire population), most of whom were murdered in 1942 by the Germans in Treblinka. The cemetery is in the northern part of the town, on the eastern side of 11 Listopada Street. In 1924, it covered an irregular L-shaped area and was fenced. It was a part of the synagogue complex. The cemetery’s establishment date is unknown, though it was probably established in the 18th century when the kehilla (organized Jewish community) was established. During World War II, people who died or were killed in the ghetto were buried in the cemetery, including several members of the Judenrat. The cemetery fell into disrepair around this time and continued to degrade in the following decades.
On September 7, 1967, the Minister of Municipal Economy—following the resolution of the Presidium of the City National Council in Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą dated March 8, 1967—signed an order to close the cemetery (which then measured 0.9126 hectares) owned by the State Treasury. The accompanying documentation stated the following: “The last burial took place in 1941 and the cemetery has been closed since then. Moreover, all the tombstones were removed from the cemetery in 1941. The cemetery was intended for the cultivation of crops.” A market square was built in the cemetery. In 1985, part of the plot was used as a “rubbish dump and a fieldstone dump.” In 2013, market sheds were (probably) built in the northern part of the cemetery. All the above-ground elements of the cemetery have vanished, and the borders are unclear. There is no form of commemoration of any kind. Two destroyed sandstone steles were secured in the Regional Museum. The owner of the cemetery is the State Treasury, and it is listed in the Municipal and Provincial Register of Monuments.