Jewish cemetery (at the junction of Warszawska Street and Berka Joselewicza Street)

Jewish Cemetery in Dąbrowa Tarnowska was founded at the turn of the 17th and 18th century at the crossroad of current Warszawska nad Berka Joselewicza Streets. The Nazis destroyed it during the war, removed approximately 1,500 tombstones from it and later piled them on the yard of the local Junior Secondary School which was the seat of the Wehrmacht. Some of them were used to fortify the banks of the Breń River, others to make a paved passage in the square center. The matzevas served as a material hardening sidewalks in Olesno, some were buried in Szarwark and near the Młynówka stream called “Szarwaczanka” (right next to the sports pavilion ”MLKS Dąbrovia”).

When the war was over some tombstones were brought again to the cemetery but they were covered with soil, later they got overgrown with moss and grass. According to Samuel Roth and lawyer Izaak Stieglitz who died at the end of 2000 in Tel Aviv there should be over a thousand monuments and matzevas. Until today about 150-200 thombstones remained in various conditions .Today, the area of the former cemetery is a flat 2.4 ha parcel. It is situated in a peaceful, shaded place with six outstanding oaks classified as natural monuments.

Near the entrance there is a small ohel in which zaddiks are burried: Mordechaj from Dąbrowa (died on 8 I 1843), son of Cwi Hirsza, disciple of Widzący from Lublin, founder of the zaddik dynasty from Dąbrowa; Józef from Dąbrowa (died on 20 I 1876), son od Mordechaj, son-in-law of Mojżesz Eliakim from Kozienice; Mojżesz Eljakim from Dąbrowa (died on 15 I 1917), son of Izrael Elimelech from Żabno. On their graves modern matzevas are placed.

In the centre of the cemetery there are mass graves of 800 Jews murdered during  World War II by Nazi. Two tombs remind us about this tragedy. One of them was built in the 90’s of the 20th century by Reichberg-Roth Foundation. The other one was funded by Kongregacja Wyznania Mojżeszowego in Tarnów.

Today, we can only see a few graves in the Jewish cemetery and many fragments of the tombstones are visible. The last pious Jew from Dąbrowa Tarnowska, Samuel Roth, was buried here on 18 December 1995. His grave is located in the northern-eastern part of the necropolis. .[1.1].