Uniejow Jewish Cemetery

Uniejów was granted town rights in 1285. The first records of Jewish settlement in the town date to the mid-18th century. An independent Jewish community (kehilla) was established in the mid-19th century. 960 Jews lived in Uniejów in 1897, and 1,400 in 1939, then constituting 40% of the total population. During World War II, in 1940, the Germans established a ghetto in the town, and about 130 families were forced there. After the liquidation of the ghetto, most of Uniejów’s Jews were murdered in the extermination camp in Chełmno nad Nerem. The Jewish cemetery in Uniejów is located at 55 Dąbska Street, in the forest, about 150 metres away from the road, in front of the Catholic cemetery. The cemetery’s exact establishment date is unknown, though it was most likely established in the 19th century. The last known burial took place in 1941. During World War II, the Germans completely destroyed the cemetery. In 1965, an application was submitted to close the cemetery. Not a single tombstone has survived in the cemetery. Only a stone with a memorial plaque with an inscription (which reads, “The Jewish cemetery. Legally protected area. Please, respect the resting place of the dead”), informs about the existence of the cemetery. Fragments of damaged matzevot can be found in the forest. Originally, the cemetery covered an area of 69 acres, now it is 49 acres.