51°52' N 17°36' E, 146.7 miles W of Warszawa. Dobrzyca is an urbanized village in Pleszew County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland, I8 mi W of Pleszew, 9 mi NE of Jarocin, 16 mi from Krotoszyn, and 47 mi SE of the regional capital Poznań and seat of the administrative district called Gmina Dobrzyca with a population of 3,250. photos. [April 2009]
I found hidden in the bush [buried?]. They are visible on my website: http://www.shabbat-goy.com/?page_id=3252&preview=true. site translation: The community dates from the second half of the 17th century. In 1973, 13 Jewish families lived in Dobrzyca. In the early 19th century a Mikveh, a house of prayer, and a heder existed. In 1900 22 Jewish families representing 120 people lived there still while in 1845 the 152 Jews were 11% of the population. The Jewish cemetery was probably established during the mid-19th century. The Nazis destroyed it and took its brick wall. The graves were systematically stolen and most likely reused as building materials after WWII.
2011 visit: According to an old map, the Jewish cemetery is located south of the village and formerly surrounded by fields, the site is now partly built with new houses. A brand-new stadium around the site of the old cemetery that still is difficult to locate even with the old map. I went in this small wooded area amid extremely dense vegetation consisting of shrubs and bushes. Despite the difficulty of access, I could see some fragments of what were the bases on which were set tombstones. On the ground, I find a lot of waste and empty bottles that show that the old cemetery was still accessible after WWII and is/was used more or less as a dump. Dobrzyca represents the epitome of a cemetery; despite having survived the devastation of war, it was simply looted and dismantled after the war. Source: Jacques Lahitte [December 2011]
US Commission No. POCE000475
Dobrzyca is located in region Kaliskie at 51º52 17º36, 82 km SE of Poznan. The cemetery is located in the fields at the end of Wrobinskiego St. 1991 town population: 1,000- 5,000; no Jews.
- Municipal: Urzad Gminy, Rynek 14, 63-330 Dobrzyca.
- Regional: PSOZ-WKZ, ul. Franciszkaiska 3/5, 62-800, Kalisz.
1921 Jewish population was 6. The linguist, Jakub Levi, lived here. The unlandmarked Progressive/Reform cemetery was established during the 19th century. The isolated, rural, flat area surrounded by farmland has no sign or marker. Reached by turning off a dirt road, access is open to all with no wall, fence, or gate. No gravestones remain. The municipality owns the property used as a waste dump. No visitors. No known mass graves, structures, maintenance or care. It was vandalized during and following WWII. The only threat is from vegetation overgrowth disturbing graves.
Michal Witwicki, Dembowskiego 12/54, 02-784, Warszawa, completed this survey on 16 Oct. 1991, tel. 28-10-1991 based on a site visit interviews with Elenora Piergoman and Mr. Robert Ciernak, employee of the community office.