The driving force behind the development of the Jewish community was the “Civic Relations Edict” issued by King Frederick William on 11 March 1812. That document, commonly known as the “Emancipation Edict”, introduced a fundamental change in the position of Jews in the Kingdom of Prussia, making them partly equal in legal terms to Christian citizens.

The first mention of Jews living in Königshütte dates back to 1829.

On 23 July 1847, the Prussian authorities enacted the “Jewish Relations Edict” which regulated numerous legal issues concerning Jewish organisations and communities and defined the territorial range of Synagogue precincts. On its basis, the Synagogue Community in Bytom, under which the Jews residing in Königshütte were subordinate, was granted legal personality.

In 1860, there were approximately 600 Jews living in Königshütte.

On 11 July 1868, Königshütte was granted city rights, to which several communities and fragments of neighbouring communities were annexed, including Łagiewniki Górne, where an independent Synagogue Community operated. Therefore, the newly established city also became the seat of the Jewish community, which was confirmed by making appropriate changes to the statute in June 1869.

A synagogue was built in 1874.

After the end of World War I and the rebirth of the Polish state, the majority of Upper Silesian Jews decisively sided with Germany. In June 1922, Königshütte became part of Poland, which further intensified the process of Jewish emigration. Jews mostly coming from the Dąbrowa Basin but also from the former Congress Kingdom of Poland began to arrive in their place. The newcomers encountered difficulties and reluctance of the German Jews.

In 1934, the name of the city was changed to Chorzów.

The outbreak of World War II changed the situation of the Jewish population in Polish Upper Silesia, which underwent administrative changes after it was occupied by the Germans.

At the end of May and the beginning of June 1940, the vast majority of Jews from eastern Upper Silesia were relocated in Zawiercie, Chrzanów, Olkusz and Trzebinia, as well as towns and cities in the Dąbrowa Basin region, mainly Będzin and Sosnowiec, where collective ghettos were gradually created.

After the end of World War II, Chorzów became part of Poland again. The city became a place where Polish Jews settled. At first, they had their own congregation; however, after its liquidation, they began to be formally subordinate to the congregation in Katowice.

The Description

All necessary permits for the establishment of a cemetery in Königshütte were obtained in 1864. The land for it was purchased south of the centre of the city, at Ziegeleistrasse, later Zietenstrasse and now Krzywa Street (ulica Krzywa). The cemetery was laid out outside the built-up area on a roughly square-shaped plot with an area of 3,500 square metres. The whole area was enclosed by a fence, and a funeral home was erected on the street side and then replaced by a newer building in 1898.

The cemetery was opened for burial in early 1867. However, the surviving burial register, which was recreated at the beginning of the 20th century and probably based on earlier documentation and later supplemented by new entries on an ongoing basis, provides much information about it. The first to be listed is five-week-old Rosalie Loewe, who, according to the register, died on 17 January 1867 in Königshütte, but in fact – as determined by her death certificate – on 19 January 1868 in Siemianowice. In view of this mistake, the first buried person should be three-year-old Johanna (Handel) Berger, entered under number two, who died – according to both the death certificate and the burial register – on 6 March 1867 in Königshütte.

As the cemetery was almost full, it was extended deeper into the grounds in a south-westerly direction, giving it a final size of 0.8 hectares and an elongated rectangular shape. According to the register, 948 people had been buried in the old section of the cemetery by 1939, while the new section began to be used in March 1915 and 421 people were laid to rest there over the next 25 years.  Marie Hadda of Lipiny was the last person to be listed in the register; she died on 6 March 1940 at the age of 77.

The cemetery was not devastated during World War II. In 1945, it was in good, though severely neglected, condition.

After 1945, the cemetery was again used for burials – the last burial took place in 1954. Until 1949, the funeral home (demolished in 1964) was inhabited by a Jewish family caring for the necropolis. In the following years, its condition gradually deteriorated, driven also by human factor.

In 1972, the municipal authorities of Chorzów issued a decision to liquidate the cemetery. At the turn of February and March 1973, the remains of 32 deceased were exhumed and deposited at the Jewish cemetery in Bytom. In the course of the work, all tombstones were removed and the cemetery area was levelled and cleaned up, arranging the park that exists there to this day. In 2006, the site was commemorated with a matzevah (monument).

Author of the note: Sławomir Pastuszka

Właściciel praw autorskich do opisu: Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.