In 1913, 4,466 Jews lived in Lubartów, mainly at Lubelska, Klitki I and Klitki II streets. They dealt mainly with trade and crafts, and earlier also leased gardens and farms. The richest families in the city included the Perec family, who were the stagecoach transport tycoons in the 19th century.

In the interwar period, the community managed a synagogue, two cemeteries, a mikvah, a ritual slaughterhouse, and a Talmud-Torah religious school. There were numerous Jewish charitable organizations and political parties, as well as Zionist youth organisations. At the same time, however, a decline in the number of Jews was recorded as a result of economic emigration.

After the outbreak of World War II, Lubartów came under German occupation within the borders of the General Government. In 1939, the Germans plundered Jewish apartments and shops and destroyed the synagogue and cemetery. Some of the local Jews were sent to Ostrów Lubelski, as well as Parczew, Kamionka and Firlej. In 1940, the Germans established a Judenrat and in 1941 they created a ghetto. The boundaries of the ghetto were marked by the following streets: Żabia, 11 Listopada, Browarna, Poprzeczna, and Lubelska; at its peak, 4,500 people were imprisoned there. By 1942, transports of Jews from Lublin, Ciechanów and Slovakia arrived in Lubartów. At the same time, the Germans initiated extermination, sending transports to the German Nazi extermination camp in Bełżec, and then to Sobibór and Majdanek. In the new Jewish cemetery on Cicha street, approx. 300-500 people were shot. The liquidation of the Jewish community by the Germans ended in 1943.

In total, approximately 40 Jews from Lubartów survived the years of German occupation. Some of them hid in houses of Polish neighbours, and the rest took shelter in the surrounding forests. After 1945, most of them left for Palestine, France or the United States. In Tel Aviv, a monument was founded in honor of the murdered brothers and sisters with the image of the Lubartów synagogue.

The Description

The Jewish community in Lubartów operated two cemeteries. The older one was founded in the second half of the 16th century, shortly after the town's location, and operated until the end of the 19th century. It was located near the southwest corner of the market square and the main street, as well as next to the synagogue (in the 1960s, a nursery was built in its place). Today it is the corner of Legionów street and Armii Krajowej street (former Żabia street). In the interwar period, it was fenced with a wooden fence.

During World War II, the occupying German authorities completely devastated the historic necropolis and erected a gallows on its premises, where Jews were hanged. The broken matzevas were used as construction material.

In 1948, the city authorities allowed the creation of a Jordan garden on the site of the old cemetery. Afterwards, for a long time, a municipal garden square has been located there. Only in 2022, thanks to the cooperation of the National Heritage Institute with the Lubartów Town Hall and the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the cemetery was marked with a commemorative plaque as part of the 'Marking of Jewish Cemeteries in the Republic of Poland' programme.

Author of the note: Magda Lucima

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