Alternate names: Hrubieszów [Pol], Rubishov [Yid], Hrubishov, Hrubyeshuv, Rubashov, Rubischoff, Rubishoyv, Rubashov-הרוביעשאוו-Yiddish. 50°48' N, 23°55' E, 29 miles SE of Chełm. 1900 Jewish population: 5,341. Yizkors: Pinkas ha-kehilot; entsiklopediya shel ha-yishuvim le-min hivasdam ve-ad le-aher shoat milhemet ha-olam ha-sheniya: Poland vol. 7: Kielce and Lublin (Jerusalem, 1999). Pinkas Hrubieszow (Tel Aviv, 1962). Shorashim shelanu: le-zekher kedoshei Hrubieszow (Tel Aviv, 1990-95) (Israel, 1998). ShtetLink. A town in SEPoland with a population of 18,661 in 2004, Hrubieszów is the capital of Hrubieszów County. Since 1999, Hrubieszów has been part of Lublin Province (Polish: województwo lubelskie). In 1975-98, it was in Zamość Province (województwo zamojskie). Jewish settlement in Hrubieszow dates from 1440 or 1444. Two Jewish merchants are documented in 1456 as court purveyors. In 1578 a Jew named Abraham obtained the contract for distilling in the town. The Jews were allowed freedom to live where they wished and to have a synagogue. By agreement with the Hrubieszow clergy in 1678, the Jews paid annual taxes to the ecclesiastical authorities. The *Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49 touched Hrubieszow. In 1672, Tatar incursions hit them also. Fire destroyed 27 Jewish houses and the smaller synagogue were in 1736. Community leaders and the rabbis were active on the*Council of the Four Lands. Most Hrubieszow Jews traded agricultural products. In the second half of the 19th century they expanded into manufacturing and the building trades. The first Jewish-run hospital in Poland was inaugurated in 1818. A new synagogue was built in 1874 and an old age home in 1905. Chasidim became active in the early 19th century. Zionism took root in the interwar period. Many immigrated post-World War I due to the economic crisis. Jewish population: 709 in 1765, 3,276 in 1856, 5,352 (out of 10,636) in 1897, 5,679 (out of 9,568) in 1921, and 11,750 in 1939. The Jews were in a fairly large group in the multicultural town. Hrubieszowie. Mathematician Abraham Stern, a member of the Warsaw Scientific Society and inventor of triangular measuring and advanced clocks was born here. During WWII, Some Jews escaped to the Soviet Union, others were killed in mass executions in the city and the extermination camp in Sobibor. [May 2009]
CEMETERY: At the junction of ul. Kruczej i ul. Krucze and ul. Targowej, the fair grounds was a place of mass execution. The Holocaust Memorial Wall, made up of 110 pieces of matzevot gathered form the city's inhabitants, includes the oldest matzevot from the 17th century. In the cemetery, at the initiative of Abram Shera a marble monument was erected on which is inscribed: "To honor and remember of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust 1939 - 1945." The cemetery is fenced. A plaque at the entrance indicates the place how to obtain the key to the gate of cemetery. photos. [May 2009]
HRUBIESZOW I:
The cemetery is located on Ulica (Street) Krucza, Hrubieszow, Lublin province, at 23° 53° W º50° 48° N about 30 km. SE of Zamosc and 107 km. ESE of Lublin. Alternate/former names are Hrubishov, Hrubyeshuv, Rubashov, Rebeshov, Rubischoff, Rubishov, and Rubishoyv. Present town population: 20,000 with no Jews.
- Town officials: Urzad Miasta.
- Local: Urzad Wojewodzki, Zamosc ul. Partyzantow 3; Sejmik Samorzadowy Wojewodztwa Zamojskiego at Zamosc, ul. Partyzantow 3, tel. 31-34.
- Regional: Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow, Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow Zamosc, ul Staszica 29, tel. 59-71.
- Interested: (1) Organization of Former Jewish Inhabitants of Hrubieszow in Israel (POB 953, 61 008 Tel. Aviv, Israel) and (2) Regional Center for the Study and Preservation of Cultural Landscape (ul. Archidiakonska 4, Lublin, Poland. Tel. 73-62-24). Organization of Former Jewish Inhabitants of Hrubieszow in Israel, Post Office Box 953, 61 008 Tel. Aviv, Israel; (2) Urzad Wojewodzki-Wydzial Geodezji, Kartograffi i. Gospodarki Gruntami, ul. Przemyslowa 4, Zamosc, Poland. Tel. 26-57; (3) Wojewodzkie Archiwum Panstwowe, 4 Przemyslowa St., Lublin, Poland.
Earliest known Jewish community dates from 1442. Jewish population 1939 (census) was 11,000 people; 7500 Jews. Brief history: September 29, 1400 in Lwow (Poland), the King Wladyslaw Jagiello made Hrubieszow an official city. 1500: Tartars ruined and devastated the town (again). 1939: The German army entered town limits on September 15. Living here were Abraham, the Hrubieszow Jew (16th Century); Arieh Perec (Porecki) (20th Century); Solomon Brand (20th Century); Binyamin Yanover (20th Century); Meiche Hoffman (20th Century); Avraham Zimmerman (20th Century); and Rabbi Yedidia Frenkel (20th Century). Buried in the cemetery are Twersky, the Trisker Rabbi, who died while submerged in the town mikvah. Last known Jewish burial in Orthodox (mostly Ashkenazi) cemetery was prior to 1941. Landmarked cemetery was.5 mile from the congregation.
The isolated urban flat land, according to differing sources, with a sign in Polish and Hebrew mentioning Jews, the Holocaust, and the Jewish community. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. A continuous fence and a non-locking gate surround the cemetery. The size of the cemetery both before WWII and now is about 3 hectares. Two tombstones stand in original position. The rest of them were either used by the Germans for paving or are displayed in the cemetery monument (an amalgam of sixty Jewish cemetery stones) erected in July 1997. Approximately sixty other stones are not in original location with less than 25% broken. Many stones are incorporated into roads or structures (location: Hrubieszow.) The cemetery is not divided into special sections. The oldest known gravestone dates from the 19th century. The sandstone tombstones and memorial markers are flat shaped stones with inscriptions (pictures) on some, but most Hebrew inscribed. The cemetery contains a special memorial monument to Holocaust victims. No known mass graves. Municipality owns property used for Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent are residential. Occasionally, organized Jewish group tours or pilgrimage group and private visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II and not in the last ten years. Individuals or groups of non-Jewish origin, local or municipal authorities, and Jewish individuals and groups abroad re-erected stones, patched broken stones, cleaned stones, and cleared vegetation as a community effort. Avram Scher (Sher) donated funds for a monument in Hrubieszow (year unknown). 1981, Shalom Greenberg visited Hrubieszow and donated funding. 1989, four leaders of the Association of Hrubieszow in Israel came to the town to prepare the ground for a group visit to dedicate the monument. They told non-Jewish students of Hrubieszow about the Jewish community; the students, in turn, brought tombstone fragments that they found scattered around town. 26 June 1990, a delegation of sixty Jews from the organization of former Jewish inhabitants of Hrubieszow in Israel visited the death camps in order to take part in an unveiling of the monument and rehabilitation of the Jewish cemetery. 7 August 1997, gathering at Jewish Cemetery in Hrubieszow to inaugurate the monument erected from broken tombstones found and gathered from varying parts of the town. Citizens and visitors, members of the organization in Israel, and abroad, gathered to pay tribute. Current Care: occasional clearing or cleaning by authorities. Security and vegetation are moderate threats. Weather erosion and vandalism are a slight threat.
Aaron J. Biterman. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. completed survey in March 1999. Documentation: Our Roots Hrubieszow book series (1990-1995). Other documentation exists but was inaccessible. The site was not visited. Stefan Krakowski, Nathan Michael Gelber, Barry Megdal, Jay Lazerowitz, Ricki L. Zunk, Robert Huber, S.B. Weinryb, Baruch Kaplinsky, and Binyamin Yanover supplied information used to complete this survey.
UPDATE: "I noticed that the Hrubieszow entry (to which I originally contributed) states that no mass graves are known in the cemetery. My father is a survivor, born in Hrubieszow, who was kept in the labor camp there until 1943. He is personally aware of numerous mass graves in the cemetery. The largest consisted of two large graves with hundreds of people each and a number of smaller mass graves with 5-20 people each. None is marked as far as I know. This information is further documented in the book I Shall Live, by Henry Orenstein." Dr. Barry Megdal This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [March 2005]
HRUBIESZOW II: AS 130
The last known Orthodox Jewish burial was before 1941. The landmarked isolated urban flat land has a sign or plaque in Polish mentioning the Holocaust and Jewish community. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. A fence with an unlocked gate surrounds it. The size of the cemetery both before WWII and now is about 3 ha. 1-20 sandstone finely smoothed and Hebrew inscribed with relief decorations gravestones, none in original position with less that 25% toppled or broken, date from the 19th-20th century. The municipality owns property now used as a Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent areas are commercial or industrial, agricultural and residential. Occasionally, private visitors stop. It was vandalized during World War II. Local/municipal authorities and Jewish individuals abroad re-erected and patched stones, clearied vegetation and fixed walls. Occasionally, authorities clean, paid for by local contribution and Jewish survivors. No structures are within the cemetery. Security and vandalism are moderate threats.
Slawomir Parfianowicz, Jasielska 50a/2, 02-18 Warszawa completed this survey on August 25, 1995 after a visit to the site. Documentation: found at PSOZ (Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow -State Preservation Authority, Conservation Officer for Voivodship) Zamosc,-"Karta cmentarza: (cemetery record chart), # ??? filled in by ?, 1990. Interviews were conducted with the officers at Preservation Authorities and residents of housing near the cemetery.
Photo from Facebook: Only known photo of defunct cemetery [April 2015]
