Obj. ID: 50245
Jewish Funerary Art New Jewish cemetery in Chrzanów, Poland
According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, the second “large” or “new” Jewish cemetery in Chrzanów was established near the old cemetery following the purchase of additional land. Both cemeteries were surrounded by a common wall in the first half of the 19th century. During World War II, the cemetery was used for carrying out executions and burials of Jews confined in the ghetto. There is a mass grave of 37 Jews from Chrzanów in the centre of the cemetery who were murdered by the Nazis in Trzebinia (now marked with a monument) at the beginning of September 1939. The cemetery survived the war in relatively good condition but suffered devastation in the post-war years. From 1945 to 1961, the watchman’s house was destroyed, large parts of the cemetery wall were pulled down, and most of the tombstones were knocked down. The funeral home was pulled down between 1968–1973, during which time the boundaries of the cemetery were narrowed.
About 3,000 matzevot have survived in the currently preserved area of approximately 1.71 hectares. The oldest tombstone is from 1802, and the most recent dates to 1949. In 2005–2007, at the initiative of the Jewish community and local authorities of Chrzanów, the cemetery was thoroughly restored. The cemetery wall and the ohels were repaired, the fallen stelae were re-erected, and about 1,500 tombstones were inventoried. Shlomo Bochner, a student of Elimelech from Leżajsk (died 1828), who died in 1828, is buried in the ohel to the north of the cemetery. Leaders of the Halbersztam dynasty are buried in the ohel in the southern end of the cemetery, including the following: Dawid, a son of Chjima (d. 1894); Josef Zeew, Mojżesz, and Naftali – the sons of Dawid (d. 1902, 1915, 1927); and Józef Elimelech and Baruch – the sons of Mojżesz (d. 1906, 1916). The cemetery suffered further devastation in 2009 and about 50 stelae were damaged. A list of tombstones is available at the following address: http://www.gidonim.com/tombstones/chrzanow.
sub-set tree:
| Borowcowa Street. Next to the old Jewish Cemetery (35 Podwale Street)