The Jewish cemetery in Częstochowa was established in 1799. The last burial took place in 1973. The cemetery is located in today’s area of the Częstochowa Foundry but the access ot the cemetery is free. The Municipality of Czestochowa has recently renovated the access road to the Jewish cemetery in Czestochowa and as part of this work has opened a new access road to the cemetery, shortened the unpaved driveway and put up new signs on the entrance to the cemetery. For Waze or GPS users the enterance is from ul. Odlewnikow. The entrance is under the arch of the hot water pipes - permanently signed both directions.


In the area of 8.5 ha about 2000 gravestones have survived, the oldest of which dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. Colorful polychromes (red, black, yellow and golden colors) have remained on some of the gravestones. Inscriptions are in Hebrew and Polish. Special attention should also be paid to the ohel of Izaak Mayer Justman who died in 1920.


During the Second World War, numerous executions of Jews from the local ghetto occurred in the cemetery area:


  • In February 1943 in Rynek Warszawski, the German military police shot 9 Jews from the small ghetto for evading work. The corpses were buried in the Jewish cemetery

  • On March 6, 1943, at 1/6 Jaskrowska Street, the German military police shot 10 Jews from the small ghetto for failing to appear at an assembly. The following names of the victims have been identified: Amsterdamer, Cymermanowa, Cymermanówna, and Gliksmanówna. The corpses were buried in the Jewish cemetery.

  • On March 20 1943, the German military police shot about 180 Jews from the small ghetto. The corpses were buried at the execution spot.

  • In May and June 1943, the military police shot 8 Jews in Horowiec i S-ka factory. Names of 3 victims have been identified: Engel Estera (about 28 years old), Horowiec Lajb (about 38 years old, engineer), and Horowiec Szmul (about 34 years old, engineer). The corpses were buried in the Jewish cemetery.

  • On 27 June 1943, the military police and members of the factory guard shot a group of 50 Jews at 54 Nadrzeczna Street, who were hiding in a bunker. Names of 12 victims have been identified: Bukowska (no first name), Bukowski (no first name), Gotfryd (no first name, 40 years old), Gotfryd (no first name, 10 years old), Jesionowicz Moniek, Krauze Aron Josek (60 years old), Krauze Ruchla (55 years old), Moszek (no first name, 22 years old), Orbach Jakub, Szynkarska Estera (35 years old), Szynkarska (no first name, 10 years old), Szynkarski Fajwel (40 years old). The corpses were buried in the Jewish cemetery.

  • On July 20, 1943, the military police shot in the Jewish cemetery about 400 Jews from “Hasag” and the factory on Garibaldiego Street. The corpses were buried at the spot of crime.

  • On March 20, 1944, members of the German factory guard shot in the Jewish cemetery 15 Jewish children at the age between 1-14, who had been brought from Dęblin. The corpses were buried at the execution spot.

  • In October and November 1944, members of the German factory guard shot in the Jewish cemetery 15 Jewish children at the age between 1-14, who had been brought from Dęblin. The corpses were buried at the execution spot [[re:|http://www.katowice.uw.gov.pl/urzadkatowice.php?wojewodztwo/lista10/printpage (as of August 27, 2009)]].

In the cemetery there is a memorial erected on the mass grave of the Jews of the Częstochowa ghetto executed by firing squad in 1943. The inscription on the monument says: "A fraternal grave of hundreds of victims from the small ghetto and Hasag camp, whose lives were taken away by the invader in 1943. Blessed be their memory."


The other memorial commemorates the dead members of the Jewish Combat Organization.


Due to efforts made by the Nissenbaum Family Foundation, in 1986 the cemetery entered the list of the national register of historical monuments. In 1991 partial maintenance works were carried out in the cemetery. In 1997 a list of tombstones was made and over 2000 matzevot were marked.


See also:


At present, work is being carried out on publishing a guidebook to the Jewish cemetery in Częstochowa. The book is to be promoted by the Center for Documentation of the History of Częstochowa which operates at the Museum of Częstochowa. Two authors are working on it – a documentary maker Wiesław Paszkowski, and a historian Juliusz Sętowski. "The book will include a list of recognized tombstones, brief notes on the diseased and biographies of outstanding people buried in that necropolis. The war graves will be especially exposed. The Guidebook will also include information on graves which no longer exist today or which are destroyed. The book is the first attempt of such an elaboration. The authors made queries in libraries and archives. They collected data from Polish and Jewish magazines and elaborations in Polish, German and Yiddish. They also used the Polish cataloguing of 1970-1975. At that time, each stone or marble grave received its number, but only a list of Polish inscriptions was made. In 1997, a group of Israeli youth led by Beniamin Yaary, as well as Martvna Strachel, Ada Holzman, Urim Ben Zioń and Michał Chen catalogued over 2000 monuments. Unfortunately, the works were not completed, and numerous mistakes were made by distorting names and confusing dates. The authors of the Guidebook compiled the results of both cataloguing actions."[[re:|Przewodnik biograficzny po Cmentarzu Żydowskim (Biographical Guidebook to the Jewish Cemetery) ([in:] Życie Częstochowskie (Częstochowa Life) April 3, 2009]].


Over the last few years, with the assistance of Mr Alon Goldman, Chairman of The Association of Czestochowa Jews in Israel, a cemetery mapping project has been conducted by the Gidonim, Reut high school students from Jarusalem. To this date, approximately 3 600 graves have been mapped. The project, which is expected to be complected in the summer of 2016, is managed by the educator Dina Winer and the results of the mapping (records and photos of all the headstones) can be seen on the school website http://www.gidonim.com/ . 


Click here to watch a short film about the cemetery made by Andrzej Tarnowski in 2013.

Print