Podgorac Jewish Cemetery

Podgorač is a municipality in Baranja County. The first written mention of the settlement dates to 1299. By the end of the 14th century, it was a market town, having previously been granted the right to have fairs. In around 1530 the whole area came under Turkish occupied and was only liberated in 1687. Croatian settlers first arrived in the town at the end of the 17th century from Upper Drava, Lika, and the Croatian Highlands. Significant economic development began in the 18th century and the town was famous for corn production, cattle trading, and other industrial enterprises. In 1857 the town had a population of 1,113 inhabitants, which grew to 1,682 in 1910. Jews first settled in Podgorač in the19th century. The first recorded mention of the synagogue was in 1857, where it was situated in the yard of Mavro Juhn – a Jewish merchant from Porega. By the mid-19th century, only 19 Jews lived in Podgorač. The synagogue was burned down by a Croat soldier in 1918. One of the most well-known Jews from Podgorač was the famous Croat sculptor Professor Hinko Juhn (1891- 1940.)

The land for the Jewish community cemetery of Podgorač was given to the Jewish community by Count Pejachevich. In the 1960’s, the cemetery was torn down and transformed into fields for agriculture. The gravestones and remains of the Juhn family were exhumed and relocated to the Jewish cemetery in Osijek, the largest Jewish community nearest to the town. Only a few graves remain in the cemetery and they are hidden by an overgrown forest.