LECZNA: Lubelskie

Normal 0 Alternate names: Lenczni [Yiddish]. The first documentation of the Łęczna Jewish community is from 1501. A local kahał existed by in the first half of 16th century. The synagogue built in 1648 with its original bimah and Aron Kodesh has been renovated and houses a Judaica exhibit of ritual objects illustrating Jewish holidays, life cycle events, and daily life before WWII and other Łęczna history. In the 17th century, the town held the Sejm of the Four Lands (Waad Arba Aracot), the core representation of Jewish communities. In 1857, the 1,679 Jews accounted for 64.3% of the population. Chasidism was prevalent thanks to tzaddik Szlomo Jehuda Lejb Łęczner. During World War II, the Nazis created a ghetto in the city for Jews from Leczna and then the Czech and Slovak Republics and a forced labor camp. The ghetto residents killed in Sobibor and Trawniki. About 1,000 Jews were shot in mass executions in the city. Leczna Jewish cemetery on ulica Pasternik is neglected with no visible gravestones, although probably some remain under the vegetation and dirt. Workers doing construction in the vicinity encountered human bones and stone gravestone fragments that they simply threw into the excavation. In recent years, an ohel for the tzaddisk was built in the cemetery was built. Matzevot recovered in different points of the city are held by the Museum staff and can be seen next to the synagogue. photos. [May 2009]

US Commission No. POCE000183

Alternate name: Lentchna in Yiddish. Leczna is located in Lublin at 51º18 22º53, 24 km from Lublin. Cemetery location: 3 Maja St. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.

• Town: Urzad Miasta i Gminy, pl. Koscuiszki 22, tel. 150.
  
• Regional: region Konserwator Zabytkow Lublin, mgr. H. Landecka, pl. Litewski 1, tel. 290-35.
  
• Local: Ewa Lesniewska and Tow. Pnyjaciol Ziemi Laczynskiej.

The earliest known Jewish community was second half of 16th century. 1921 Jewish population was 2,019 (62.6%). Effecting the Jewish community: Jewish Councils of the Crown (Poland) and Lithuania gathered here in the second half of the 17th century. Lived and buried in this Jewish community was Szloma Jehuda Lejb (died 1813). The Jewish cemetery was established in second half of 16th century with last burial 1942. 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 or gate. The size of the cemetery before WWII and now is 1 hectare. There are no gravestones in the cemetery. Two gravestones and 4 fragments are in a museum. The oldest known gravestones date from 1906 (in Museum). The sandstone flat stones with carved relief decorations have Hebrew inscriptions. No known mass graves. The municipality owns site used as a Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent are recreational. Private visitors rarely visit. The cemetery was vandalized after WWII. During the 1960's, municipality fenced and planted trees. Now, the fence is destroyed. There is no maintenance or care. Security, vegetation, and incompatible nearby development are serious threats. The stadium is nearby; and the fans use the cemetery for toilet needs.
Pawel Sygowski, ul. Kalinowszczyzna 64/59, 20-201 Lublin, tel. 77-20-78 visited site Apr 1991 and completed survey. Interviews were conducted.
BOOK: Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992. p. 76