Alternate names: Brok [Pol, Yid, Rus], Russian: Брок. ברוק-Hebrew. 52°42' N, 21°51' E, 35 miles SSW of Łomża, 7 miles S of Ostrów Mazowiecka. 1900 Jewish population: 1,296. Brok nad Bugiem is a small town located in Mazowsze Voivodship in Ostrowian County (head town of this region is Ostrów Mazowiecka). Brok is one of the smallest places in Europe with town status (since 1500). [April 2009]
CEMETERY:
Located on ulica Sienkiewicza, the 6,050m² cemetery established in the 19th century has fewer than 100 gravestones remaining. About one-fourth of them are broken or overturned. photos. photos. [April 2009]
burial list and gravestone photos [August 2014]
burial list [Jan 2015]
US Commission No. POCE000040
Cemetery: Str. Sienkiewicza. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Urzad Miasta i Gminy, Plac Koscielny 07-306 Brok, tel. 54, Lech Kabat, Mayor.
- Regional: Ewa Kawalek, Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow Oddz. Wojewodzki w Ostrolece, Str. Pilsudkiego 38, 07-400 Ostroleka, tel 66-829.
The earliest known Jewish community was in 1795. The 1921 Jewish population was 873. The cemetery was established in the 18th or 19th century for Orthodox, Conservative, and Progressive/Reform communities with last burial in 1939-40. Landmarked in the Ostroleka Province register of historical monuments, the flat suburban area, separate but other nearby cemeteries, has no sign. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a broken fence with no gate. The size of cemetery before WWII and currently is 0.5 hectares. 20-100 gravestones, less than 25% toppled or broken and fewer than 20 in original locations, date from the beginning of the 19th century. The tombstones are sandstone flat shaped, finely smoothed and inscribed, or flat with carved relief decoration. No known mass graves. Owned by the municipality, the property is used as a Jewish cemetery. Adjoining properties are residential and agricultural. Occasionally, private visitors and local residents visit. The cemetery essentially was destroyed during World War II. Weather erosion and vegetation are the only slight threats. Vandalism a serious threat.
Wojciech Henrykowski, u. Spokdzielcza 20, 06-200 Makow Maz, completed this survey. Documentation: the collection of Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow Burchara Pamietki I Zabytki Kultury Zydowkiej w Polsie, Warszawa 1990.