Obj. ID: 50332
Jewish Funerary Art  Jewish cemetery in Gniewoszów (Regów Dolny), Poland

According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, the cemetery is located approximately 500 metres southeast of the town square, on a hill near Dolna Street, and occupies an irregularly shaped plot measuring approximately 0.6 hectares. The cemetery was most likely founded in the mid-18th century, in accordance with a by-law signed by the town’s owner on March 23rd, 1745, which included the location of the cemetery. During World War II, local residents began to destroy the area. Tombstones and parts of the wall were taken apart and used for construction purposes. All aboveground traces of the cemetery have since disappeared. The area was later used as pasture and as a limestone depot.

On June 22nd, 1964, the Minister for Local Economy—in accordance with the decree of the National Council Presidium of Gniewoszów from July 19th, 1957—signed a by-law commencing the closure of the cemetery. In the accompanying documentation, it was stated that the last burial took place in 1945. In 1985, a single destroyed tombstone was found in the cemetery. In 2016 the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage working alongside the ESJF (European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative), using funds provided by the Federal Republic of Germany, enclosed the cemetery with a concrete fence 2 m high. The fence is seriously damaged and needs repair: several upper panels were ripped out in many places (near the entrance and along the entire perimeter). An informative plaque was placed by the entrance. In 2018, documentation showed the lack of the steel entrance gate, multiple points of damage to the fence, litter, and signs of previous bonfires. The cemetery is owned by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage. It is part of the local and voivodeship register of historical landmarks.