Alternate names: Oława, [Pol] Ohiau, Ohlau [Ger]. 50°56' N 17°18' E, 182.9 miles WSW of Warszawa. The town in SW Poland with 31,078 inhabitants in 2005 in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975-1998 in the former Wrocław Voivodeship) and the seat of Oława powiat and also of the smaller administrative district of Gmina Oława (although it is not part of that territory but is an urban gmina in its own right). Oława began to develop during the early 12th century at a site that was protected by the rivers Oder and Oława. Normal 0 The Jewish community was never large, with the greatest in 1840-1871 when the Jewish population increased from 144 to 211. Well integrated in the community, the Jews engaged in trade, worked at the mint, and ran an inn. In 1816, Samuel Löbel Steimann bought land on the outskirts of town that became the cemetery that he donated to the Jewish Community. This site was called "Trupimi dołami" because in the Middle Ages the dead without the right of burial in the city were buried here. [June 2009]
To reach the cemetery from the Oławy outlet center bank, go to the railway viaduct and turn at first street on the left. The cemetery is located on the left at the end of ul. Cichej. Opening of the Jewish cemetery was in 1818 that survived WWII in pretty good condition, but in post-war years was systematically robbed and destroyed. Remaining matzevot are fallen, some vandalized, Those thrown in the nearby river near have already been removed). Bushes conceal the cemetery while a wall of netting from the meadows has been removed. The preserved tahara is converted to residential quarters. The site is cleaned every few years especially by youth. By Spring 2006, students from the Wroclaw Municipal Gimnazjum No 13 came to clean up. On March 7, 1977 the cemetery was entered in the register of monuments as catalog number 385/W. photos. [June 2009]