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Suchowola Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Poland
Region
Podlaskie Voivodeship
District
Sokółka
Settlement
Suchowola
Site address
The Jewish cemetery is situated in a forest area along the eastern side of Augustowska Street (National Road no 8), about 1.3km north from the Market Square. The cemetery area starts 50m north of residential block 52, Augustowska Street.
GPS coordinates
53.590849, 23.110918
Perimeter length
624 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The partially destroyed Jewish cemetery of Suchowola is located in the northern part of the town in a forest area. The cemetery area is partly overgrown and partly intentionally cleared. Some traces of the cemetery have been preserved: several large stones are visible on the cemetery borders, likely belonging to the demolished masonry wall. The preserved tombstones are located inside the cleared terrain and in a flat lapidarium. There is a memorial stone with info about the cemetery, which was installed on the 8th of May 2021) and a couple of wooden information panels, nailed to the trees.
Number of existing gravestones
20. The cemetery contains 10, preserved in situ, parts of the tombstones (pieces, pedestals, concrete parts of tombs and a partially destroyed ohel-shaped tombstone) and 10 pieces of tombstones, placed in the lapidarium.
Date of oldest tombstone
N/A
Date of newest tombstone
1909 (piece in the lapidarium)
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Other
Preserved construction on site
There is partly demolished tziun gravestone. The wooden beit-tahara hasn’t survived.
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

The Jewish cemetery in Suchowola is located about 1.3 km north-east of the market square, behind the crossing of the roads to Augustów and Pokośno, on the eastern side of Augustowska Street. The cemetery covers plot no. 1501 (shaped like a rectangle) with an area of 2.2 hectares. The cemetery’s establishment date is unknown. At the beginning of the 20th century, the area was expanded. Before 1939, the cemetery was surrounded by a stone wall and the area was covered with trees. There was a wooden mortuary at the entrance. During World War II, the Germans used some matzevot to pave roads. The cemetery fell into further disrepair in the post-war years. The fence was town down and almost all the tombstones were taken away. On January 29, 1963, the authorities closed the cemetery.

In the cemetery, there is a stone plaque with the following inscription placed there in 2011: “Jewish Cemetery in Suchowola, established in the 17th century. Destroyed by the Germans during World War II. Restored in 2010. Please, respect the place of memory of the dead. TNCBH.” There are also remains of individual destroyed tombstones and a lapidarium made in 2020 in the form of a horizontal concrete spout, in which fragments of matzevot found in the town were placed. On the edge of the cemetery, there is a monument with a cross, with the following inscription: “A place sanctified with the blood of the brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks on August 9, 1920. Mietko Fabian, Naumowicz Władysław, Rudakowski Piotr, Zaniewski Feliks, Zimnoch Franciszek. They died for Poland. We remember.” The owner of the cemetery is the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage. Cleaning work has been carried out by the Center of Three Cultures and the Suchowola Commune Office. The cemetery is listed in the Municipal and Provincial Register of Monuments.

Jews began to settle in Suchowola towards the beginning of the 17th century. In 1921, 1,262 Jews lived in the town (51.3% of the population), most of whom were murdered by the Germans between 1942 and 1943.

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