Alternate names: Radoszyce [Pol], Radoshitz, ראדושיץ [Yid], Radoshitse, Радошице [Rus]. 51°05' N, 20°14' E, 46 miles WSW of Radom, 26 miles NW of Kielce, 11 miles SW of Końskie. 1900 Jewish population: 1,728. Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), IX, pp. 440- : "Radoszyce". This village in Końskie powiat, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Radoszyce. The village has a population of 3,400. Normal 0 Jews living in Radoszyce were first documented in 1564, but they lived with significant limits on their rights because the local inhabitants feared their economic competition. The Jews lived outside the city walls, which changed on after the fall of the First Republic. The 14 Jewish heads of household in 1789 grew to 476 Jews (29.3%) in 1827. In 1900, the Jewish population of 1,728 people was 49% of the total. In the nineteenth century Radoszyce became another Chassidic center. The Jewish population declined around 1900 due to immigration and WWI. In 1921, 1,278 Jews lived there. The pending Nazi invasion prompted many Jews to leave Radoszyce. The city created the ghetto for in which the closed displaced from other locations. In November 1942 the ghetto was closed down years, and its residents were killed in the gas chambers of Treblinka. The last of the tzaddik Radoszyce, Chaim Uszer Finkler, died in the ghetto in Lodz. [June 2009]
MASS GRAVE: Although Adam Penkalla stated in his report [below] that there were no known mass graves at the cemetery in Radoszyce, this is indeed, NOT the case. According to two key informants, both living in Radoszyce, one in his early 90s, during WWII, the Nazis murdered a number of jews from the ghetto in the town square and dumped the bodies in a mass grave in the cemetery area. When I visited the cemetery in 2007, the pit was readily evident because the circular area had sunk and been covered over with dark soil. I was told about the mass grave when I inquired. The information about the mass grave was confirmed by a Radoszyce resident (who witnessed the mass burial) when I spoke with him in 2009. Source: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CEMETERY: Located in the forest about two km from the village on the left side of the road to Grodzisk, the cemetery existed prior to 1789 and was expanded at the 20th century the area was expanded. The destruction of the cemetery in WWII continued after the liberation. In 1983, rabbis to the Office for Religious Affairs decided to restore the site. In 1984, Victor Kleinmuza from the U.S. rebuilt the ohel of the tzaddikim. Now, only a few gravestones are visible. Photo. [June 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000294
The town is located at 51º05N 20º16E, 107 km. from Todz. Cemetery: suburban crown of a hill between road to Grodzisko in Kielce. Present population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Local: Wojt Gminy Radoszyce, 26-230, Radoszyce, ul. Konecka 27, tel. 84.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, ul. IX Wiekow Kiele 3, Kielce, tel. 45634.
The earliest known Jewish community dates from about 1615. 1921 Jewish population was 1278 or 38.2%. 1615 Zygmunt III Waza confirmed of the Privilege granted to the Jews. Jsaclzat Dov Ber z Radoszye lived in the town in 1843. The cemetery was established about 1615. The last Orthodox or Conservative Jewish burial was 1942. No other towns or villages used this landmarked cemetery. The isolated suburban crown of a hill has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. The cemetery has a broken masonry wall with no gate. The cemetery is 1.5 ha as before WWII. 1-20 stones, in original location with less than 25% toppled or broken, date from 19th-20th century. Removed stones are incorporated in the roads in Radoszyce. The limestone or sandstone flat stones with carved relief decoration or finely smoothed stones have Hebrew and Yiddish inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. The municipality owns property used as a Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent property is forest. Jewish pilgrimage groups, organized individual tours, and private Jewish visitors rarely visit. It was vandalized during World War II but not in the last ten years. The cemetery receives no care. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Security (uncontrolled access) is a moderate threat. Weather erosion and vegetation are a slight threat.
Dr. Adam Penkalla, deceased, completed survey, visited site, conducted interviews.