STAWISKI: Podlaskie

Alternate names: Stawiski [Pol], Stavisk, סטאוויסק [Yid], Staviski, Стависки [Rus]. 53°22' N, 22°09' E, 13 miles NNE of Łomża, 10 miles E of Kolno. 1900 Jewish population: 2,554. Yizkor: Stawiski; sefer yizkor, (Tel Aviv, 1973). Stawiski is a town on the River Dzierzbia in NE Poland, Kolno powiat, Podlaskie Voivodeship, 16 km (10 mi) E of Kolno and 74 km (46 mi) W of the regional capital Białystok and is the administrative seat of Gmina Stawiski. It is the hometown of the famous chess player Akiba Rubinstein. Stawiski blog spot. photos. Jewish Stawiski. [July 2009] Normal 0

CEMETERY: Located south of the city on the east side of the road leading to the Lomza in the medieval castle, the 3-ha, landmarked cemetery was destroyed during WWII with the devastation continuing after liberation. Only a few tombstones, mostly granite, remain among the intense vegetation without a fence. A Holocaust mass grave in the nearby forest dates from 1941. [July 2009]

A well-documented memorial stone to the Jews killed in the forest by the Nazis in the summer of 1941 visited by local townspeople and well tended. That is at a different site from this Stawiski  cemetery. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. [October 2006]

Jewish Cemetery: Located on Lomza Road, in Lomza province, Bialystok region at 53°22' 22°09', 13 miles NNE of £omza. Alternate/former Yiddish name is Stavisk. Present population is 5,000 - 25,000 with no Jews.
Contact People:

• Town officials: Mayor: Marek Waszkiewicz, tel. 278-54-10, wew. 21 pok. nr 11 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel. (086) 2785511, Fax. (086) 2785533, Town secretary: Janusz Kossewski, tel. 278-51-45, wew. 23, pok. nr 9.
  
• Town website with more info: http://www.stawiski.pl/
  

The unlandmarked, rural (woods/forest) cemetery location between fields and woods is isolated and on flat land with no sign or marker. The cemetery is reached by crossing private property. Access to the cemetery is open and known to a local citizen. The cemetery is surrounded by a hedge or row of trees or bushes and no gate. 1 to 20 gravestones are visible in cemetery with more than 75% broken or toppled. The present owner of the cemetery property is a private individual. Properties adjacent to cemetery are agricultural. The cemetery is visited rarely by private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish) and local residents. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II. No maintenance or care. Weather erosion and vegetation are very serious threats.
Ellen Moshenberg completed the survey in September 2006. She visited the site in May 2004 with a local woman whose husband had ties to the Jewish community and who maintains a relationship with one of the few people to survive the war along with a translator and a survivor from the town, who lives in Israel and his family since 1997. She has pictures to share of broken gravestones and one fully intact stone. The resident of Stawiski, who accompanied her, is upset by the condition of the cemetery and willing to assist in restoration. This site was seen by the Monuments Preservation Office. Ellen Moshenberg is interested in responses from anyone interested in rehabilitation of the site. Contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. [October 2006]