Zawichost Jewish Cemetery

From 1820, the former town of Prosperów has been included in the present borders of Zawichost. The development of a Jewish community in Prosperów began in the 18th century. In 1921, 1,445 Jews lived in the town, which was 47.9% of the total population. The majority of them were killed by the Germans in Bełżec in October 1942.

The cemetery is located in the western part of the town, at Okrężna Street. The cemetery was likely established in the first half of the 19th century. In 1848, the facility was located “outside the town, in the fields”, and the cemetery fence consisted of a wall, a wooden fence, and an earthen embankment.

In October 1942, around 200 people murdered during the liquidation of the ghetto were buried at the cemetery. Later, likely in 1944, the bodies were dug up and burnt.

During World War II, the devastation of the cemetery began. At the order of the Germans, the tombstones were broken and used to gravel the road to Staszów.

On July 13th 1957, the Presidium of the Municipal National Council in Zawichost adopted a resolution on the liquidation of the cemetery, which was raised by the Presidium of the Provincial National Council in Kielce. The authorities of Zawichost adopted another resolution on January 30th 1963, planning to build up the cemetery with single-family houses. At that time “the area was fenced, bushes and trees were planted, the remains of bodies and monuments were secured”. The final decision on closure was issued by the Minister of Municipal Economy on June 26th 1964. The accompanying documentation states that the cemetery covered a plot of 2 hectares, and that the last burial took place in 1942. In the following years, four plots were separated from the cemetery. There are no above-ground traces of the cemetery visible.

In 1989, thanks to the initiative of Cheil Weinbaum, a part of the area was fenced. A monument commemorating the victims of the Holocaust was erected and the only remaining matzevah was attached to it.

The owner of the cemetery is the Zawichost Municipality. The cemetery is listed in the Register of Immovable Monuments of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (entry No. A 940, 30/01/2019).