Przasnysz Jewish Cemetery

The Przasnysz Jewish cemetery is located approximately 750 metres south-east of the market square, between Leszno Street and Nadrzeczna Street, and covers an irregularly shaped plot with an area of 1 hectare. The cemetery’s establishment date is unknown. The cemetery was not mentioned in the church visitation records from 1781 and 1783. It certainly existed by the fourth decade of the 19th century, which is confirmed by the designation on the Topographic Charter of the Kingdom of Poland from 1839. The cemetery was devastated during World War II. As Rabbi Szymon Huberband reported, “the tombstones were pulled out, the ground was plowed and used as a road.” The cemetery fell into further disrepair in the post-war years.

In 1961, the Presidium of the Municipal National Council in Przasnysz adopted a resolution to close the cemetery. The justification stated the following: “All the tombstones were destroyed by the German occupier. Since 1940, no human bodies have been buried at this cemetery.” The authorities planned to establish a park or playground in the cemetery. The cemetery was probably covered with trees in the following years. In the south-eastern part is now a branch of the Municipal Services Office, and there is a road along the southern edge. In 1989, there was an illegal playing field in the cemetery. In 1986, a monument in the form of two steles with a semicircular top was erected on the edge of the cemetery, with the following inscription: “In memory of those who lived with us”. About 30 tombstones from Chorzel, Maków Mazowiecki, and Przasnysz were placed in front of the monument (the list of tombstones is available at http://cmentarza-zydowskie.pl/przasnysz.htm). The boundaries of the cemetery are imperceptible. The owner of the cemetery is the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage. The facility is listed in the Provincial Register of Monuments.

the Jewish community in Przasnysz significantly developed in the post-partition period. In 1921, 2,158 Jews lived in the town (36% of the population). In the fall of 1939, the Germans forced the Jews of Przasnysz to leave the town. Most of them ended up in the General Government and were murdered in the following years.