International Jewish Cemetery Project
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies

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Alternate names: Wyszków [Pol], Vishkov [Yid], Vyshkov [Rus], Vishkeve, Viszkuv.52°36' N, 21°28' E, 31 miles NE of Warsaw, 17 miles ESE of Pułtusk.. Jewish population: 3,207 (in 1897), 4,412 (in 1921).  Russian: Вышков / Вышкув. Yiddish: ווישקעווע. Hebrew: וישקובWyszków is a town in NE Poland with 26,500 inhabitants in 2003 and the capital of Wyszków powiat n the Masovian Voivodeship since 1999 and previously  in Warsaw Voivodeship (to 1975) and Ostrołęka Voivodeship (1975-1998).

.Before World War II half of Wyszków's population of 9,000 were Jewish. On September 14, 1997, a Holocaust memorial was unveiled made of Jewish gravestones that had been removed from the site in 1939 by German occupiers. They used them as paving stones and in the construction of the local Gestapo headquarters. [July 2009]

US Commission No. POCE000054

The town is located in Ostroleckie Region at 52º36'E 21º28'N, 29 km from Pultusk, 30 km from Serock, 37 km from Ostrow Mazowiecka, 17 km from Lochow, and 57 km from Warsaw. Cemetery is located on str. Laczna. Present population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.

  • Town: Mayor Krzysztof Zamczewski, Urzad Gminy, str. Aleja Roz 3, 07-200 Wyszkow, tel. 42-01; 40-20 
  • Local: Towarzystwo Opieki nad Zabytkami Zydowskimi w Wyszkowie, Grzegorz Pikora, Str. Projta 8B m7, tel. 34-27. 
  • Regional: Ewa Kawatek-Wojewodzki Koserwator Zabytkow Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow Odolz Hojewodzki w. Ostrolece str. Pilsudskiego 38,.07-400 Ostroleka tel. 66-829. 
  • Interested: Ryszard Cudny, Str. Zakolejowa 23; Wyszkow or Warszawa Str. Nadiezdy Krupskiej, tel. 37-47-47 Da Akademii Medycznej.

The earliest known Jewish community was the 18th cent. 1921 Jewish population was 4412. Cemetery was established in beginning of the 19th century with last known Jewish burial in 1939. Orthodox, Conservative, Progressive/Reform and Neolog community and other towns and villages up to 10 km away used the unlandmarked cemetery. The isolated suburban hillside and crown of a hill by water 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 approximate size of the cemetery before and now World War II is 1.5 ha. 25-50% of surviving stones are toppled or broken; approximately 80 tombstones are in the foundation of a barn near the cemetery. Another 500 tombstones are in Mr. Cudny's back yard. The oldest known gravestones date from the 19th century. The sandstone flat shaped stones, some finely smoothed and inscribed and some flat with carved relief decoration, have Hebrew and Yiddish inscriptions. Cemetery contains no known mass graves. The municipality and a private individual own site, Kramek Lech, str. Kaczna, Wyszkow, used for agriculture. Properties adjacent are agricultural and residential. Rarely, private visitors and local residents stop. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II with no maintenance. No trace of cemetery remains. There are residential buildings within the premises of the cemetery.

Wojciech Henrykowski, str. Spoldzielcza 20 06-200 Makow Maz completed survey August 23, 1991 after a visit. He consulted a periodical, "Tydzien Wyszkowski" # 53, 16.08.1991 and interviewed two people: Gregori Pikora, 8/23/91 in Wyszkow and Andrzei Eychler, 8/22/91 in Wyszkow.

Video of cemetery/monument in Wyszkow filmed in 2010 [2014]

UPDATE: The ulica Laczna cemetery site is on the bank of the Bug River. Present population is 27,000 with no Jews. Mayor: Grzegorz Nowosielski (2009), Urzad Gminy, str. Aleja Roz 2, 07-200 Wyszkow, tel. (0-29) 742-42-01/08. Local authorities: Towarzystwo Opieki nad Zabytkami Zydowskimi w Wyszkowie. Many of the gravestones were used in the construction of the wall of the memorial. The Jewish community now owns the site. The cemetery vandalized during World War II has no maintenance. Source: Howard Orenstein, Ph.D., Westminster, MD, website. [June 2009]

US Commission sponsored the recovery of tombstones from building foundations and sidewalks of Wyszkow and constructed a large Holocaust Monument that incorporates the stones adjacent to the cemetery. The site was dedicated on Sept. 4, 1997. Other sponsors include the Jewish Community of Poland, the Polish Government's Remembrance Foundation, and the Town of Wyszkow. Funds are currently being raised for fencing the cemetery and landscaping around the monument. Photos of the monument are available at 202/254-3824, 1101 15th St. NW Suite 1040, Wash., DC 20005. Cemetery photos [January 2006]

ISJM information [January 2001]

The Nazis removed all tombstones and visible signs identifying this as a cemetery. Many stones were used to reinforce a riverbank and eventually eroded away completed. Another 200 stones were used in the construction of local sidewalks, building foundations, and the floor of a local Gestapo headquarters. Source: Jewish Heritage Report , Issue # 1, March 1997; contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. [1997]

Photos taken July 24, 1997 at REIPP website: (scroll down to Wyszkow]. "Photos show a number of the tombstones in place in the monument wal constructionl. Surnames reflect spelling used in the vital record registers of Wyszkow and may not correspond to current surnames of descendants and/or relatives in other countries. While buried in the Wyszkow cemetery, some of these individuals were from nearby towns and villages. Where age of deceased is not indicated, this indicates that the age did not appear in the index page; therefore, the actual records must be extracted to obtain this and other information such as mother, spouse and, in some cases, surviving children. This tombstone matching effort utilizes the database of the indices of the Jewish vital records of Wyszkow, made possible through the kind cooperation of the Polish State Archives. A list of over 1000 family names noted in the town's birth, marriage and death registers and Wyszkow project. "Twenty stones have already been identified and we invite researchers to help us locate their families." list. Source: REIPP Wyskow cemetery project. For additional information on the specific records and identified stones, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Quebec, Canada or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

burial list [Jan 2015]