Obj. ID: 50410
Jewish Funerary Art Site of the Old Jewish cemetery in Żelechów, Poland
According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, the Old Jewish cemetery in Żelechów is located approximately 70 metres southeast of the town square, between Piłsudskiego, Kościuszki, 15 Pułku Piechoty “Wilków,” and Staszica Streets. It stood directly beside the synagogue. The cemetery’s establishment date is unknown, though it was likely established in the first half of the 18th century. It was first recorded in a document by the Kraków Bshop Andrzej Stanisław Kostka Załuski from June 20, 1750, when Jews from Żelechów were forbidden from “burying their dead during daylight with undue pomp, becoming guards of the Catholic cemetery.” In 1776, tzadik Aron Hopstein of Żelechów was buried in the cemetery and an ohel was erected over his tombstone. At the beginning of the 19th century (according to various sources, between 1801 and 1802) the local government, acting on sanitation concerns, advised the Jewish community to stop using the cemetery beside the synagogue and mark out a new location beyond town limits.
The cemetery was presumably destroyed during World War II. After 1945, the synagogue was demolished, and the area was turned into a park. Around 2011, the local government founded a park and erected a stone memorial commemorating the synagogue. All aboveground signs of the cemetery have vanished. The borders are unclear, and the area is not fenced. There is no information about its ownership status. The cemetery is listed in the voivodeship register of immovable monuments.