- 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) - Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 561: "Janow Podlaski".
- Pinkas HaKehilot, Poland, Vol. 7 (1999), p. 265-266: "Janow Podlaski"
- Shtetl Finder (1980), p. 119: "Yanov, Yanov Podlaski, Yanov Shedletzki".
- Jewish Records Indexing Poland Town Page
- Museum of the History of Polish Jews
- Jewish Records Indexing - Poland
Jewish settlement in Janowie Sokółki [sic?] was in the 17th century, but only in 1719 did Bishop Konstanty Vilnius Brzozowski give permission for erecting a synagogue. Ten years later, Janowie had more Jews than Poles and in177?, 214 Christians and 220 Jews. The main synagogue in Janowie was probably erected in 1740.Tomasz Wisniewski, a well-known researcher of Jewish Podlasie wrote in his book, Synagogues Białostocki, that Janowska synagogue has chosen "the most interesting Jewish sacred objects. The monumental [trzykondygnacyjny?]roof covered with shingles was impressive. Above the main windows ran an ornate frieze." The 19th century saw thegreatest development of the local Jewish community. Geographical Dictionary of the Polish Kingdom and other Slavic Countries describes Janów at the end of this century as "1534 inhabitants (Catholics 528, Orthodox 3, Jewish 997, Moslem 3)." In 1897, the 1,797 Jews accounted for 78% of all residents. Israel Davidson, a well-known historianof medieval Hebrew literature, was born here. In the early 20th century, many Jews emigrated to America and othercountries due to economics; but in 1921, the Jewish population was 1,027. After September 1, 1939, the Soviet army occupied the town attracting many fleeing Jews. Then, the German army entered the Janow on 26 June 1941 anddestruction of the shtetl began. The ghetto was created and some Jews deported to Suchowoli. The ghetto was liquidated on November 2, 1942, its inhabitants were deported to the transit camp in Kiełbasinie near Grodno and later to death camps. Janowska synagogue was destroyed: photos. [May 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000400
Alternate name: Janew Siedlecki (Yanev Shedletzki) in Yiddish. Located in Biala Podlaska province at 52º12' 22º13', 107 km from Bialystok. The cemetery location is opposite 30 Bialska Street. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Urzad Gminy Janow Podlaski, ul 1 Maja 15.
- Regional: Psoz-wkz, ul. Brzeska 41, 21-500 Biala Podlaska.
The earliest known Jewish community was before 1623. The last census before WWII showed 2,100. The Orthodox community used the unlandmarked isolated suburban hillside with no sign. Reached by turning off a public road, access is open to all with a fence and non-locking gates -- two gates and a pass gate to a farmer's courtyard. There is wire netting for the one part where the fence was destroyed. The present size of the cemetery is about 1.6 ha in size. No gravestones are visible. The vegetation overgrowth is a constant problem disturbing graves.
The municipality owns property is used as a Jewish cemetery only, but actually unused. Property adjacent is residential and agricultural. Rarely, private visitors stop. It was vandalized during World War II and occasionally now. Local/municipal authorities did some maintenance to the wall in 1986, but none since. No structures are within the cemetery. The main problems are several damaged parts of the fence and unchecked vegetation growth.
Michal Witwicki, Dembowskiego 72/53, 02-784 Warsaw tel. 6418345, completed this survey Aug. 15, 1991 using a documentation card. Eleonora Bergman and Michal Witwicki visited the site on August 1, 1991.
Another source reports about the old cemetery: (in Yiddish Janew) In Janowie Podlaski, Jews lived before 1623.
Before the outbreak of WWII, about 2,000 Jews lived there. The Jewish cemetery located within the town on the right side of the street in the direction of Biala Podlaska with an area of 1.27 h, is completely devastated and neglected, overgrown with trees and bushes with no tombstones. Many matzevot were used for construction or paths on private property. In the photo is the only known matzevot (recovered and secured by R. Zubkowicza - dop. Redakcji) was that converted into a grinding wheel. In areas where sandstone does not occur naturally, sandstone gravestones of the abandoned cemetery were quite commonly and used by local people for the manufacture of grinding stones by hand or by foot pedal for sharpening knives, axes, etc. Such "secondary treatment" of matzevot was by skilled farmers. Thus, when turned into grinding wheels, part of the gravestone was destroyed. [May 2009]