Secemin Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The first recorded mention of Secemin dates to the end of the 13th century. Secemin was granted town rights prior to 1370 and it developed as a trade and agricultural centre. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, it was an important centre of the Reformation. Jewish settlement began in the town in the 16th century. In 1649, a trial took place for an alleged ritual murder (blood libel). In 1739, Jews owned about a quarter of all plots in the town. In 1790, they constituted about 12% of the town’s population. Certainly, an independent kehilla was active in Secemin by 1765.
The Jewish cemetery was established earlier, at the beginning of the 18th or the end of the 17th century. The cemetery was located south of the town, on the road to Psary and Kraków. It was in use no later than 1920. After the establishment of a kehilla in the nearby Włoszczowa in 1860 and the incorporation of Secemin into the Włoszczowa poviat in 1867, local Jews became subordinate to the Włoszczowa kehilla. In 1921, 224 Jews lived in Secemin, constituting 13.9% of the total population. During the war, no ghetto was established in the city. The Jewish inhabitants were deported to the Włoszczowa Ghetto in the summer of 1942. According to Jan Lochmann’s testimony, in the interwar period, there were about 20 matzevot in the now-closed Jewish cemetery. During the war, the cemetery was used for carrying out executions. After the war, the area was developed by a local agricultural cooperative. Until now, there are two outbuildings. The cemetery is unmarked, and no tombstones have survived.