PARYSOW: Mazovia

Alternate names: Parysów [Pol], Porisov, פאריסאוו [Yid], Parysuv, Парысув [Rus]. 51°58' N, 21°41' E, 35 miles SE of Warszawa, 30 miles WSW of Siedlce. 1900 Jewish population; 2,014. Yizkor: Sefer Porisov, (Tel Aviv, 1971). Town of Parysów is the seat of the Gmina Parysów, a rural administrative district in Garwoliński powiat from 1975-1998 in Mazowieckie voivodship with 4,110 inhabitants in 2004. Normal 0 Jewish settlement began in the 18th century. In the mid-19th century, the tzaddik Jehoszua Asher Rabinowicz of Żelechów, son of "the Holy Jew of Przysuchy" brought many Chasidim here. His teachings continued with Cwi and the sons of Jacob Meir Shalom. In 1897, 2,014 Jews accounted for 64% of the population. The synagogue with a dome and stone floor is now a cultural center. Nazi troops occupied on September 17, 1939 when Simon Huberband was the rabbi. They cut the beards of those praying and then destroyed the bimah and ark. Parysow's Judenrat and ghetto was established in November 1941 with slave labor and lasted until September 27,1942 when about 3,500 Jews, including displaced persons from other towns, were sent to Treblinka. [June 2009]

CEMETERY: The cemetery was established before 1862 in the pine forest near the crossing. Only one gravestone remains. The missing matzevot were used to as building materials. An ohel protects the tzaddik's tomb. For years locals searched the graves for treasure believing that the Jews were buried with valuable. Now, the cemetery is an illegal dump. Due to its sandy soil, occasionally bones appear. In autumn 2006, a representative of the Jewish Community in Warsaw collected the scattered bones and the municipal office was prompted to take care of the cemetery. Photos. [June 2009]

US Commission No. POCE000577

Parysow is located in Siedlechie province at 51º58 21º42, 18 km from Garwolin and 70 km from Warsaw. The n area called Starowola by the dirt road along the railway. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.

• Town: Urzad Gminy, Parysow, tel. 113-19.
  
• Interested: Adam Jedynak, Parysow and Wojwodzki Konserwator Zabytkow Siedlce, ul. Zbrojna 3, tel. No. 394-58.
  

1921 Jewish population was 1906. The cemetery dates from the first half of the 19th century with last known burial before WWII. Site is between woods and fields, isolated on flat land with no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no fence or gate. The size today and before WWII was 1.5 hectare. No stones are visible. Municipality owns property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are agricultural. The cemetery was vandalized during WWII. No known mass graves. No structures. No care. No threats. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem preventing access.

Cezary Ostas, Siedlce, ul. Pomorska 1/68, tel. 290-95 visited the site and completed this survey on 17 Sep 1992 when he interviewed Kazimierz Sionek, Parysow.