Poland

Haruth [October 2000]

http://www.jewish.org.pl [December 2000]

http://tbns.net/poljs

[UPDATE] Web page of the Foundation for the Documentation of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland [November 2014]

[UPDATE] Adopt-a-Jewish-Cemetery Project launched in Poland [February 2015]

[UPDATE] Jewish Heritage Europe:  Poland Notes [February 2015]

[UPDATE] Jewish Heritage Europe:  Poland round-up: cemeteries, synagogues, etc. [February 2015]

[UPDATE] FODZ: Adopt a Jewish Cemetery [July 2015]

[UPDATE] Marking the Ghosts in Poland's Old Jewish Cemeteries [January 2017]

Pawel Dorman's Jewish Poland website. He is a professional genealogist [June 2009]

Introduction and General Information

This section contains general information and books about Poland.

Entries indexed below as "US Commission No." refers tp information about individual cemeteries donated by the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, 1101 Fifteenth Street, Suite 1040, Washington, DC 20005; 202-254-3824.

"Urzad" means "office" in Polish. "gmina (district)" is a sub-administrative unit like an uezd or county. "region" is similar to a "province" or guberniya or state. 1 hectare roughly equals about 2 acres.

The Lauder Foundation Genealogy Project at the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland
ULICA Tlomackie 3/5
00-090 Warsaw, Poland
tel/fax: (011-48-22) 625-0400
Director Yale J. Reisner
The foundation has cemetery lists for Kalisz, Bielsko-Biala, Zabrze, Warsaw (only partial), Pilica and several others. The Jewish Historical Institute only produced the Kalisz list in-house. Others produced the others with copies shared with the Institute for reference. HOWEVER, Yale's friend and colleague, Jacek Proszyk, the Bielsko-Biala Jewish community's historian and holder of the index copyright, prepared the Bielsko-Biala list. The Project is a non-profit educational endeavor of the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, the Jewish Historical Institute Association and the Jewish Historical Research Institute. For Warsaw, the Jewish Historical Institute Archives only have about 4000 names. Warsaw cemetery director Boleslaw Szenicer (Cmentarz Zydowski, ulica Okopowa 49/51, Warszawa, Poland) has over 40,000 names in his database so far. [date?] He welcomes inquiries. The 4000 we have and the 40,000 he has do NOT overlap; however, they are different sections of the cemetery. Source: Yale Reisner.

WORLD WAR I-WAR CEMETERIES:
Erich Fritsch and a friend are documenting Austrian-Hungarian war cemeteries erected in WWI. In doing this, they also found Jewish war cemeteries built by the former K.u.K.Militaerkommando Krakau, Kriegsgraeberabteilung (established in Nov.1915). From 1915 to 1918, this Kriegsgraeberabteilung built 400 cemeteries in Western Galicia (now part of Poland). For Jewish members of the Austro-Hungarian Army d 13 "Kriegerfriedhoefe" (war cemeteries) were erected. They are listed in Die Westgalizischen Heldengraeber aus den Jahren des Weltkrieges 1914-1915 ; edited by Major Rudolf Broch and Hauptmann Hans Hauptmann in Vienna 1918. The registration and page numbers refer to this book. Some of the buildings he has seen are mostly not in a very good shape, ruined by Germans, Poles and overgrowth. Nowadays, Polish authorities try hard to save what is possible. Source: Erich Fritsch

Nr. 107	Biecz 144	3 single and 3 mass graves in Jewish graveyard
Nr. 132	Bobowa 184	5 single graves and 1 mass grave in Jewish graveyard; Hungarian soldiers
Nr. 313	Bochnia 372	20 single graves in Jewish graveyard
Nr. 275	Brzesko 334	21 single graves in Jewish graveyard
Nr. 90	Gorlice 138	6 single graves in Jewish graveyard
Nr.130b	Grybow 143	7 single graves in Jewish graveyard
Nr. 24	Jaslo 104	near the railway station, 9 single graves in Jewish graveyard; grave numbers 1-9
Nr. 372	Myslenice 409	1 mass grave in Jewish graveyard
Nr. 328	Niepolomice 374	1 single grave in Jewish graveyard
Nr 35	Olpiny 104	6 single graves in Jewish graveyard
Nr. 201	Tarnow 272	43 single graves in Jewish graveyard
Nr. 162	Tuchow 272	4 single grave in Jewish graveyard
Nr. 293	Zakliczyn 318	12 single graves in Jewish graveyard

REFERENCES

• Cohen, Chester G. "Jewish Cemeteries in Southern Poland" from `An Epilogue' in Shtetl Finder . 1980.
• Freedman, Warren. World Guide for the Jewish Traveler . NY: E.P. Dutton Inc, 1984. Extracted by Bernard Kouchel,
• Krajewska, Monica. A Tribe of Stones, Jewish Cemeteries in Poland . Warsaw: Polish Scientific Publishers, Ltd., 1993.
• Gostinski, Zalman. Shteiner Dertzeilin [Stones Will Tell]. Paris: ___, 1973. in Yiddish and French. 1961-1967 photographs of a number of Jewish cemeteries in Southern Poland. Surviving synagogues were also photographed. Almost all of the towns visited were in Austrian Galicia in the 19th century.
• Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992. (pages 14-81 are about Poland).
• Krajewskae, Monika. Czas Kamieni (Jewish Cemetery Monuments in Poland). Warsaw: Interpress, 1982. 164 pages text in Polish. edited by Anna Kamienska, 164 photos of Jewish cemetery monuments. The photos are indexed with the name of the town where the cemetery is located. Some of the towns included are Szydlowiec, Sieniawa, Lubaczow, Nowy Wisnicz, Bochnia, Lesko, Lodz, Tykocin, Otwock, Krakow, Tarnow, Zwierzyniec, Warsaw, Lublin, Zabno, etc. source: Jewishgen
  The above book (in Polish) lists 890 Jewish cemeteries in contemporary Poland. The book is based on computerized file system the author has built. Each record has such data as location, size, number of existing matzevot, the oldest grave, contact person. Source: Michael Halber
• Lewin, Louis, 1868-1941 Papers, [ca. 1888-1941] Description: .2 linear ft. Notes: Rabbi, historian. Lewin lived in Poland, Germany, and Palestine. ... and photographs of towns in Poland, cemeteries, synagogues, and unidentified subjects resulting from his research into the history of German and Polish Jews. Of note is a manuscript copy of the diary of Rabbi Yoselmann of Rosheim, as printed in the REVUE DES ETUDES JUIVES (XVI, 1888). YIVO collections are in Yiddish, Russian, Polish, English, Hebrew, and other European and non-European languages. Location: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York, NY. Control No.: NXYH89-A645 [December 2000]
• Lewin, Isaac, collector. Title: Lewin collection, [ca. 1200]-1942, [ca. 1700]-1942 (bulk) Description: ca. 22.5 linear ft. Notes: Contains variety of records of Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe especially in Posen, Silesia and other German-speaking areas, including pinkasim (record books) of communities and societies, memorial books with lists of deaths, ..., cemetery registers, society statutes, synagogue seat records, and other documents of communities at Kempen (Kepno, Poland), 1771-1902; Strassnitz (Straznice, Czechoslovakia ?), 1855-1879; Krotoschin (Krotoszyn, Poland), ca. 1832-ca. 1913; Labischin (Labiszyn, Poland); Militsch (Milicz, Poland), ca. 1830-ca. 1900; Fraustadt (Wschowa, Poland), 1835-1887; Rawitsch (Rawicz, Poland), ca. 1838-ca. 1861; Nikolai (Mikolow, Poland), ca. 1849-1898; Myslowitz (Myslowice, Poland), 1810-1852; Schwerin, [Skwierzyna] 1819-1869; Posen (Poznan, Poland), 1535-1538 (copies), 18th century, n.d.; Mecklenburg province, 1760-ca. 1850; Breslau (Wroclaw, Poland), 1808-1844; .. Location: Yeshiva University. Special Collections. Rare Books and Manuscripts, New York, NY. Control No.: NYYH88-A76 [December 2000]
• Mostowicz, Arnold and Friedman, Michal. Poland, Jewish exhibition catelogmetery in Lodz . 3100, book, 6/18/1997; title:, Oficyna Bibbookofilow Sp. z o.o., 1995, 136 p., ANG/POL, 83-86058-56-0. Source: Daniel Dratwa; The books are among the collection at the Jewish Museum of Belgium.
• Rosenstein, Neil. Polish Jewish Cemeteries 9,9 p. ill.; 22 x 28 cm.; call # DS 135.P6 R67 1983. Source: Pennycandy Jansen; e-mail:
• They Lived Among Us: Polish Judaica , a travel brochure: Arline Sachs, extracted names of townstaht supposedly having Jewish cemeteries. These generally have names only; sometimes a description of famous people who lived there, but no page number.
• Tragger, Mathilde. Printed Books on Jewish cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: an annotated bibliography . Jerusalem: The Israel Genealogical Society, 1997.
• Weiner, Miriam. Jewish Roots in Poland, Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories . Routes to Roots Foundation, Inc, Secaucus, NJ. Cemeteries are only a tiny part of this book's resources. Contains many cemetery photos.
• "Cemeteries in Poland", mainly Jewish:  contains information from "The Map of Jews in Poland" with text by Iwona Brzewska and Renata Pitkowska. Translated by Jan K. Milencki. Source: Roman Padula, who also has pictures of a number of cemeteries.

• JEWISH MILITARY CASUALTIES IN THE POLISH ARMIES IN WORLD WAR II by Eng. Benjamin Meirtchak, President of the Association of Jewish War Veterans of Polish Armies in Israel, the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Association of Disabled Veterans of Fight against Nazism in Israel, and the Secretary General of the Association of Polish Jews in Israel

  . [January 2001]
• The regional museum in Tarnow has a website in Polish with a section called Judaika Tarnowskie. In this section is an article, in English, called "Jewish War Cemeteries in Western Galicia" written by the museum's director Mr. Adam Bartosz.  [July 2005]

NOTE: Books previously listed as sources for various towns have been cited at the town itself including the citations compiled by Elaine B. Kolinsky for Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992. [January 2001]

[UPDATE] Database of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland [January 2015]

[UPDATE] Chasidic Route/Tourist Route through SE Poland [January 2015]

[UPDATE] Adopt-a-Jewish-Cemetery Project [April 2015]

[UPDATE] Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland Facebook Page [June 2016]

Why I Am Writing a Field Guide to Jewish Cemeteries - for Poles | Jewish Heritage Europe. [July 2016]