Szczucin Jewish Cemetery

The Szczucin Jewish cemetery is located about 900 metres southwest of the market square, on the eastern side of 1 Maja Street, on a flat area, within plot no. 877 (land shaped like a trapezoid) and covers an area of 0.3892 hectares. The cemetery’s establishment date is unknown, though it was probably established in the 19th century. The cemetery was in use until World War II. In January 1940, several dozen exhumed bodies of people shot on September 12, 1939, and originally buried in the church square, were reburied there. Jews who were caught and killed while trying to hide were also buried in the cemetery. During the war, the cemetery was devastated and continued to fall into further disrepair in the following decades. The fence was pulled down and most of the tombstones were taken away.

In 1946-1947, the Poviat Jewish Committee in Dąbrowa Tarnowska negotiated with the authorities of Szczucin the possibility of fencing the cemetery in exchange for ownership rights of the mikveh (ritual bath). The transaction likely did not take place owing to the interruption in the legal continuity between the Jewish communities and post-war Jewish organizations. In 1957, the Minister of Municipal Economy signed an order to close the cemetery. Currently, there are about 100 tombstones in the cemetery in various conditions, most of which are sandstone stelae. The cemetery is unfenced, though the borders are partially visible thanks to parts of a trench. The area is covered with a forest. There are no forms of marking or commemoration. The owner of the cemetery is the Jewish Community in Krakow. The cemetery is listed in the Municipal and Provincial Register of monuments and the Register of Immovable Monuments of the Małopolskie Voivodeship.

The first Jews likely settled in Szczucin in the 18th century. Icchak Horowitz, the founder of the Szczucin Hasidic dynasty, was affiliated with the town. In 1921, 491 Jews lived in Szczucin (36% of the total population), most of whom were killed by the Germans in 1942.