Alternate names: Wieruszów [Pol], Viroshov, וויערושאוו [Yid], Verushuv, Верушув [Rus], Verushev, Vyershuv, Vyerushov, Vyerushuv, Wieruszów nad Prosna. 51°17' N, 18°10' E, 65 miles WSW of Łódź, 32 miles S of Kalisz, 17 miles WNW of Wieluń. 1900 Jewish population: 1,587. Yizkor: Wieruszow; sefer yizkor (Tel Aviv, 1970) and Ayara al Ha'Gvul (Tel Aviv, 907). Wieruszów is a town on the Prosna river with 8,849 inhabitants in 2004 in SW Łódź Voivodeship since 1999 and 1975-1998 was part of Kalisz Voivodeship. [July 2009]
CEMETERY: Normal 0 Established before 1822, that last burial was before 1945 in the 1.6-ha cemetery in the NE part of the town not far from the river. During WWII, the Germans destroyed it, stealing gravestones to pave the yard of the Gestapo Head Quarters and to make pavements in town such as the one found on Warszawska St. The gravestones from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries were excavated and returned to the cemetery. About 100 are intricately carved gravestones with Hebrew inscriptions remain, the oldest from the mid-19th century. Fragments of the cemetery wall also survived. MASS GRAVE: 86 Jews murdered on April 21, 1942 during the liquidation of the ghetto are buried in a mass grave in the southern part of the cemetery. A memorial slab funded by Abram Majerowicz was placed there. photos. photos. [July 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000477
Alternate Yiddish name: Viroshov. The town is located in Kaliskie province at 51º17 18º10, 88 km WNW of Czestochowa. Cemetery: along a dirt road without a name NE of the town center, behind the railroad and near the river Brzezuica. Present town population is 8,500 with no Jews.
- Local: Urzad Miasta I Gminy, Rynek 1-7, 98-400 Wieruszow.
- Regional: PSOZ-WKZ, ul. Franciszkanska 3/5, 62-800 Kalisz.
- Interested: Andrzej Olbromski, ul. Warszawska 61, 98-400 Wieruszow.
The earliest known Jewish community dates from the second half of the 18th century. 1931 Jewish population was 2,300. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery was established before 1822 with last known Orthodox or Progressive/Reform Jewish burial 1945. The isolated suburban 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. About 250 stones are visible. Some stones removed from the cemetery are located in PGM/Workshops of the Municipality, Fabryczna St., Wieruszow. The oldest gravestone in the cemetery is from the first half of the 19th century. The 19th and 20th century granite and sandstone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones or flat stones with carved relief decoration have Hebrew inscriptions. The cemetery contains special memorial monuments to Holocaust victims and marked mass graves. The municipality owns the property is now "not used." Adjacent property is agricultural and residential. Rarely, private visitors stop. It was vandalized during World War II with no maintenance or care except occasional clearing or cleaning by authorities. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures but traces of the foundation of the pre-burial house exist. Vandalism is a serious threat because of "no protection." Vegetation is a seasonal problem, preventing access. Security is a moderate threat.
Michal Witwicki, Dembowskiego 12/53, 02-784 Warszawa, tel. 6418345 completed survey on 30 October 1991 using E. Bergman's "Wieruszow dawny cmentarz zydowski, studium historyczne, Warszawa 1987" transcript. He visited on 19 October 1991 with Eleonora Bergman.