Alternate names: Czarny Dunajec [Pol], Charni Dunayets, Dunayets, Tzarna Dunayetz, 49°26' N, 19°52' E, 45 miles S of Kraków, 8 miles WSW of Nowy Targ. Jewish population: 221 in 1880 and 341 in 1921. Included in Nowy Targ yizkor book: Sefer Nowy Targ ve-ha-seviva, (Tel Aviv, 1979). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), I, p. 765: "Czarny Dunajec". Czarny Dunajec is a village in southern Poland near the Polish-Slovakian border in Nowy Targ County (Polish: Powiat Nowotarski) and in Lesser Poland about 60 miles south of Kraków. Villages of Czarny Dunajec gmina (rural administrative district): Chochołów, Ciche, Czerwienne, Dział, Koniówka, Odrowąż, Piekielnik, Pieniążkowice, Podczerwone, Podszkle, Ratułów, Stare Bystre, Wróblówka, and Załuczne. The first mention of Jews living in the Czarny Dunajcu was the late 18th century; however, significant development of Jewish settlement in the began in the 1860s. In 1880, 221 Jews lived there under the Jewish community in Nowy Targ. In the second half of the 19th century, the synagogue was erected. 1921 Jewish population: 341. After German occupation, local Jews were subjected to growing repression. In the village work camp labor, many people died. On August 30, 1942, the majority of Jewish inhabitants were deported to the town of Nowy Targ and then to the Belzec death camp. A former synagogue building remains. [April 2009]
CEMETERY photos and photo. Established probably in the second half of the 19th century, north of the village on the road to Rabki. Its location can be found on the military map of 1934. During the Holocaust the Nazis murdered many in the cemetery Today's state of preservation reflects the contents of a letter to the Jewish Historical Institute of the inhabitants sent a Kościeliska: "We looked at this deliberately destroyed the cemetery, where cows graze amid garbage. The cemetery was devastated after the war. Tombstones are destroyed. Only one of the inscriptions in Hebrew can be seen, but many graves have no inscriptions or matzevot, the remainder being a stone or concrete slab." photos. [April 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000739
Cemetery: NE by the road to Rabka. 1992 population: 1,000-5,000, no Jews.
- Town: Urzad Gminy, W. j. Pitsudskiego 2, 34-470 Czarny Dunajec, tel. 571-61, 572-04.
- Regional: region Konserwator Zabytkow-Mgr. Inz Zygmunt Lewczak, ul. Kilinokiego 68, 33-300 Nowy Sacz, tel. 238-38 [see Bobowa].
In 1921, there were 341 Orthodox Jews. The unlandmarked, isolated, rural (agricultural) flat land is reached by turning directly off a public road. A sign or marker in the local language refers to Jews. Adjacent property is agricultural. The cemetery area is about 17 square hectares, the same area as prior to World War II. A broken masonry wall with no gate surrounds. Access is open to all. Private visitors rarely visit. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. 1 to 20 gravestones, some in original locations but more than 75% toppled or broken, date from 19th and 20th centuries. The location of missing tombstones is unknown. Vegetation overgrowth is a constant problem. Water drainage is a seasonal problem. The cemetery is not divided into sections. The clay-like sandstone and concrete finely smoothed and inscribed stones are not resistant to atmospheric conditions. The present owner of the property is unknown. The property is now part of a recreational park. Local residents frequently visit. The cemetery was not vandalized during World War II. No maintenance or care.
Piotr Antoniak, ul. Dobroi 5 m. 36, 05-800 Pzuszkow [see: Bobowa] completed survey on September 4, 1992. He visited on August 21, 1992. No interviews conducted.