Alternate names: Pabianice [Pol], Pabianitz, פּאביאניץ [Yid], Pabnitz, Pabenits, Pabjanice, Pabyanets, Pabyanitse, Pab'yanitsy. 51°40' N, 19°22' E, 7 miles SW of Łódź. 1900 Jewish population: 5,017. Yizkor: Sefer Pabianice (Tel Aviv, 1956). JOWBR burial list: Jewish Cemetery, This town in central Poland in Łódź Voivodeship is the capital of Pabianice powiat, a unit of territorial administration and local government, with 69,648 inhabitants in 2008, 10 km SW of downtown Łódź and belongs to the metropolitan area centered on that city. We Remember Pabianice!
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In 1794, fifteen Jews lived in Pabianice. A century later, more than 5,000 and in 1939, 8,500 to 9,000 Jews lived here engaged small and large trade, crafts and some financial endeavors and manufacturing. Chassidism was prevalent here. On May 16, 1942, SS troops surrounded the ghetto forcing the Jews to the local stadium, where selections separated families. Many were killed on the road to the stadium. During this "death march", the most vulnerable died--children, elderly, and ill. Over 4,000 people were sent to Chelmno nad Nerem to die in the gas chambers. Those capable of work were sent to a ghetto in Lodz. [June 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000269
Pabianice is located in region Lodzkie at 51º4019º22, about 13 km from Lodz. The cemetery is located on Ulica Karolewska. Present town population is 25,000-100,000; with fewer than 10 Jews.
- Town: Urzad Miejski, ul. Zamkowa 16, tel. 152065.
- Local: Urzad Miejski.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, 90-926 Lodz, ul. Piotrkowska 104.
The key to the Jewish cemetery is in the possession of the Jewish Congregation (Kongregacja Wyznania Mojzeszowego, 90-926 Lodz, ul. Zachodnia 78). The earliest known Jewish community was 1847. 1931 Jewish population was 8,357. In 1796, the town passed to Prussian rule. Living here was Mendele Alter, the Gerer Rebbe's brother. The Orthodox, Conservative and Progressive/Reform Jewish cemetery was established around 1847. The last known Jewish burial was 1939-1945. Landmark: official 1981 Register of Jewish Cemeteries. The isolated urban hillside has no sign or marker. A broken fence with locking gate surrounds. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. The size of the cemetery prior to W.W.II was approximately 0.78 hectares; its present size is the same. 100-500 gravestones, 20-100 not in original location with 25%-50% toppled or broken, date from 1850-20th century. The cemetery is divided into special sections for men, women, Cohanim, and children. The marble, sandstone, and concrete flat shaped stones with carved relief decorations or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew inscriptions. Some have traces of painting on their surfaces. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. The municipality owns site used as a Jewish cemetery. Properties adjacent are residential. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. Occasionally, organized individual tours and private Jewish and non-Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized frequently. No maintenance. There are moderate security and vandalism threats. Vegetation in a constant problem, disturbing stones.
Pawel Fijalkowski, 96-500, Sochaczew, ul. Ziemowita 11, tel. 227-91 visited site in 6/1990 and completed survey on November 9, 1991. Documentation: photos in the possession of the surveyor and archives.