International Jewish Cemetery Project
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies

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Alternate names: Grabowiec [Pol], Grabovitz [Yid], Grabovyets [Rus], Grabowez, Russian: Грабовец. גראבאוויץ - Yiddish. 50°50' N, 23°34' E, 21 miles S of Chełm, 16 miles ENE of Zamość, 15 miles W of Hrubieszów. 1900 Jewish population: 1,717. Yizkors: Pinkas ha-kehilot; entsiklopediya shel ha-yishuvim le-min hivasdam ve-ad le-aher shoat milhemet ha-olam ha-sheniya: Poland vol. 7: Kielce and Lublin (Jerusalem, 1999)and Sefer zikaron le-kehilat Grabowiec (Tel Aviv, 1975). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), II, pp. 776-777: "Grabowiec" #12. Grabowiec, a village in Zamość County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Grabowiec about 24 km (15 mi) NE of Zamość and 84 km (52 mi) SE of the regional capital Lublin. The village population is 922. [May 2009]

GRABOWIEC I: AS 124

The cemetery is located in Bronislawka at E end of settlement behind plot #19, in the province of Zamosc at 50º50 23º34. The town/cemetery is 25 km NE to E from Zamosc. Present population is 1,000-5,000, with no Jews.

  • Town: Urzad Gminy [City Council], Rynek Sq., tel. 5. Urzad Wojewodzki, Zamosc, ul. Partyzantow 3 Sejmik Samorzadowy Wojewodztwa Zamojskiego Zamosc, ul. Partyzantow 3, tel. 31 34.
  • Regional: Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow, Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow Zamosc, ul. Staszica 29, tel. 59 71.
  • Interested: Regionalny Osrodek Studiow I Ochrony Krajobrazu Kulturowego, Lublin, ul. Archidiakonska 4, tel. 73 62 24. Urzad Wojewodzki-Wydzial Geodezji, Kartografii I Gospodarki Gruntami, Zamosc, ul. Przemyslowa 4, tel. 26 57 [Wojewodzkie Archiwum Panstwowe, Lublin, 4 Przemyslowa St].

The earliest known Jewish community was 1570. 1921 Jewish population was 1721. The synagogue was mentioned in the 16th century; by the end of the 19th century, there were two synagogues. 1942 brought the extermination of the local Jewish community at the stary [old] cemetery. The Jewish cemetery was established in 1891. The date of the last known Orthodox Jewish burial in the cemetery was 1941. Communities from surrounding villages did not use the unlandmarked isolated wooded hillside with no sign or marker. Access is via turning directly off a public road and crossing private property. It is open to all with no wall, fence, or gate. The approximate size of the cemetery before WWII was 1.3 ha but today is 0.4 ha. The surveyor was unable to establish any markers; and the site is covered with bushes and woods. No stones remain. The municipality and private individual(s) own property now used for agriculture (crops or animal grazing). Properties adjacent are agricultural. Private visitors visit rarely. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II, but not in the last ten years. There are no maintenance or structures. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a serious and constant problem, disturbing graves. The area is covered with quickly emerging woodland and bush.

Slawomir Parfianowicz, Jasielska 50a/2, 02-18 Warszawa conducted this survey on 25 August, 1995. He visited on 25 August, 1995 and used documentation from the PSOZ [Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow [State Preservation Authority, Conservation Officer for Woiwodship] Zamosc,-"Karta cmentarza" [cemetery record chart], #2661 fulfilled by D. Kawalo, 1990 and the "Studium historyczno-urbanistyczne dawnego m. Grabowca [Historical-Urban Survey of former town Grabowiec]", Lublin 1989 (prepared by J. Stygowska/ PKZ [State restoration workshop], Dep. Lublin. He interviewed officers at Preservation Authorities and residents of housing nearby the cemetery [Bonislawka #19].

GRABOWIEC II: AS 125

Alternate name: The cemetery is located on the N slope of Gora Grabowiecka Hill (some 200 m from the river Wolica). See Grabowiec I for information about the town and history. The Jewish cemetery was established after 1720 (when the ground was purchased). The date of the last known Orthodox Jewish burial in the unlandmarked cemetery was 1900. Btween fields and woods, the isolated hillside has no sign or marker. Access, directly off a public road, is open to all with no wall, fence, or gate. The approximate size of the cemetery before WWII and today is 1 ha. The surveyor was unable to establish any markers; and the site is open space. No stones remain. Stones removed were incorporated into roads or structures. In 1990, several tombstones were stored at the site of the local Volunteer Fire Brigade [700 Lecia Street], but that information is unconfirmed. The cemetery contains unmarked mass graves but no structures. The municipality and private individual(s) own property used for agriculture (crops or animal grazing). Properties adjacent are agricultural. Private visitors visit rarely. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II, but not in the last ten years. No maintenance. Security (uncontrolled access) and vandalism are serious threats.

Slawomir Parfianowicz conducted this survey, see above for details and documentation. He interviewed officers at Preservation Authorities and residents of housing near the cemetery.