Alternate names: Iłża [Pol], Drilch [Yid], Ilzha [Rus], Drildzh, Driltch, Russian: Илжа.אילז'ה-Hebrew. 51°10' N, 21°15' E ,18 miles SSE of Radom, 17 miles NNW of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. 1900 Jewish population: 2,069. Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), III, pp. 271-275: "Iłża". Yizkor: 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). Jews settled in Iłży in the early 19th century with 376 in 1827 (22%) and up to 542 people in 1828, and 2,069 in 1897. By the end of the 19th century Yiddish became the second language of Iłży. At the turn of the 20th century, many Jews left the city among other reasons because of the decommissioning of the porcelain factory belonging to the Zelig Sunderland. In 1921 only 1,545 Jew remained. After Nazi occupation of the city, the Jews were subjected to horrid repression. Those surviving a nightmare of life in the ghetto, at the end of 1942 were deported to Treblinka. Few survived. [May 2009]
Only a few shards remain to remind us that this was Jewish hallowed ground. It is located on a hill; housing is beginning to encroach. I am thinking of fencing in this former cemetery. It is now a young forest. My ancestors were buried here from the nineteenth century. Source: Betty Provizer Starkman; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [February 1998] UPDATE: On December 15, 2002, the Toronto Drilger/Ilza Landsmanschaft group will meet at their synagogue to discuss restoration of the Ilza Jewish Cemetery with the help of Dr. Norman Weinberg's survey of the site and discussion with builders. The group plans to travel to Ilza, Poland to rededicate the cemetery at completion. Source: on JewishGen digest, Betty Provizer Starkman, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [November 2002]
CEMETERY: Established in the first half of the 19th century on the outskirts of the city at the present ul. Kampanii Wrześniowej, the cemetery was destroyed by the Germans in WWII when they ordered gravestones taken to construct roads. In 2002, at a meeting of Toronto Jews from Iłży, they decided to restore the site. Project Restoration Polish Jewish Cemeteries (PJCRP), residents of the city, and the Foundation for Preservation of Jewish Heritage combined efforts to organize and clean area cemeteries. The symbolic ceremony was held at the cemetery on May 21, 2006, with descendants of Jews from Iłży, representatives of Jewish communities, local authorities and many from iłżanie including many students from local schools. During the ceremony, the monument was unveiled, dedicated to the memory of Jews from Iłży. The plaque placed at the entrance with an inscription in English, Hebrew, and Polish says: "The cemetery is given to the holy memory of the Jewish community Iłży (Drildzy) and the surrounding area, who lie here, and the Jewish victims of mass destruction, buried without proper rite. Left is the lasting legacy in memory of generations that pray for their eternal salvation, asking God for peace for their souls." On July 1, 2007, the Embassy of Israel and the Jewish Historical Institute Iłży acknowledged Mayor Andrzejowi Moskwie for the operation to protect the heritage of Jewish culture in Poland. photos. [May 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000070
Alternate name: Dziltch in Yiddish. Located in Radomskie province at 51º10' N 21º15E, 132 km from Warsaw. The cemetery on Kampanii Wrzesniowej Street. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Burmistz Miasta, 27-100 Itza, Pl 1 Maja, tel. 135.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, 26-600 Radom, ul Moniuszki 5a, tel. 2-13-16. Adam Penzalla, u. Gagarina 9, m 24, 26-600 Radom may have additional information.
The earliest known Jewish population in the town was 1837-1850. 1921 Jewish population was 1,545 or 33.9%. Levi Selig Sunderland was a noteworthy person living in the community. The cemetery was established in 1837 with last known Orthodox and Conservative Jewish burial in 1942. The unlandmarked isolated suburban hillside has no sign. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No fence surrounds it. The past and present size of the cemetery is about 1.5 ha in size. No gravestones are visible. There are no known mass graves or structures. The municipality owns property only used as a Jewish cemetery. The property adjacent is residential and agricultural. Occasionally, organized individual tours and private Jewish visitors stop. It was vandalized during World War II. There is some clearing of vegetation paid by a local contribution by authorities. Incompatible development is a moderate threat. Vegetation is a slight threat.
Adam Penkalla completed this survey in August 1991, after a visit in July. (see above).