Alternate names: Wodzisław [Pol], Vodislov, וודזיסלאב [Yid], Loslau [Ger], Vodzislav, Водзислав [Rus], Vodislav, Voydislav. 50°32' N, 20°12' E, 34 miles NNE of Kraków, 29 miles SW of Kielce, 8 miles SSW of Jędrzejów. Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), XIII, pp. 732-733: "Wodzisław". 1900 Jewish population: 2,667. Yizkor: Sefer Wodzislaw-Sedziszow (Tel Aviv, 1978). This town in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 50,493 inhabitants in 2007 is the seat of Wodzisław powiat, previously in Katowice Voivodeship (1975-1998) and close to the Czech Republic border, 290 km S of Warsaw and 100 km west of Kraków, on the southern outskirts of the metropolitan area known as the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Polish: Górnośląskie Zagłębie Węglowe, GZW). [July 2009]
CEMETERY: Established in 1692 outside the town limits at the road to Kraków, the last known burial took place here in 1942. The Germans destroyed the cemetery during WWII. No gravestone remains in the initially 1-hectare site. In the 1970s, a beltway from Wodzislow on the road from Warszawa to Kraków was built through the cemetery area.The Nissenbaum Family Foundation had the remains of the cemeteery surrounded with a fence in 1989. Video. Photos. [July 2009]
US Commission No. POCE00284
The town is located in Kielce region at 50º'48N 19º59E, 53 km from Kielce. Cemetery: Near(?) [Survey says between] the road to Krakow in a rural area, Swiatniki (?) section of town. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Local: Wojt Gminy Wodzislaw, 28-330 Wodzislaw kolo Jedrzljowa, Pl. Wolnosci. tel. 118.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, ul. IX Wiekow Kielce, Kielce. tel. 45634.
The earliest known Jewish community was perhaps 16th century but definitely by 1692. 1921 Jewish population was 2839 (73.2%). The unlandmarked cemetery was established in the 16th century, definitely by 1692, with last known Orthodox or Conservative Jewish burial in 1942. The isolated rural flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall, fence, or gate. The size of the cemetery today is about 1 hectare. There are no stones or known mass graves. The municipality presently owns property used for a Jewish cemetery, grazing, and a new road. Adjacent property is agricultural. The boundaries are smaller than in 1939 as a result of agriculture and new roads. Private visitors rarely visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II but no vandalism in the past 10 years with no maintenance or care. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Security and vegetation are moderate threats; weather erosion, pollution and incompatible nearby development are serious threats; vandalism is a slight threat. There are new roads through the cemetery.
Survey respondent? ul. Gagavina 9/24, Radom, tel. 48 - 366 35 34 completed survey. No interviews were conducted. He used his own documentation and more information.
- BOOK: Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992. p. 70-71
- [UPDATE] Photos by Charles Burns [April 2016]