Wloszczowa Old Jewish Cemetery

Włoszczowa was granted town rights in 1539 and was a famous Calvinist centre by the turn of the 17th century. The first recorded mentions of Jews appear in the 16th century but, because of the wars and fires which happened in the following century, the community only began to develop in the second half of the 18th century. In 1765, there were 282 Jews in Włoszczowa, who were likely a subordinate community to the Jewish communities of Przedbórz or Chęciny. The Jewish population increased in the mid-19th century and, in 1872, Jews constituted 64% of the total population. During World War II, the Germans established a ghetto and a forced labour camp in the town. In the fall of 1942, most of the Jews from the ghetto were transported to the extermination camp in Treblinka and several hundred to the labour camp in Sandomierz. Several hundred more were murdered on the spot in the new Jewish cemetery.

The old Jewish cemetery was most likely established in the first half of the 18th century at the former Strumień Street, (now Kościuszki Street) and was most likely used until the middle of the 19th century. The community records from 1904 and 1935 do not mention it, and only mention the new Jewish cemetery. The cemetery was finally destroyed during World War II. Today there are residential buildings in the cemetery area.