In 1349, the Jewish population in Opole suffered a bloody pogrom after being accused of poisoning wells. Another reference to the local Jews dates back to 1396, when Duke Bolko IV sold a house situated by the St. Cross Cemetery, previously belonging to Jew Isaac.

In 1427, the brother of Duke Bolko IV, Bernard, granted Jew Abraham of Ziębice permission to settle in Opole with his family and servants for a period of ten years. The settlement privilege issued at the time opened a possibility of residing in Opole to all Jewish people. They were also allowed to run a Jewish school, which was arranged in a private house. At the time, the centre of Jewish life in Opole was concentrated in today’s św. Wojciecha Street, which came to be called Judengasse as early as 1451.

In 1453, a wave of anti-Jewish pogroms swept across Silesia, inspired by the preaching of Catholic clergymen, most prominently John of Capistrano. In Opole, a Jew named Abraham was accused of profanation of the host. He was put on trial and sentenced to death by torture.

In the years 1532–1533, eight Jewish families lived in Opole. In the 1660s, the Jewish population of the town was estimated at around 100. In 1562, the sejmik of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz passed a resolution obliging the Jews to sell their houses, pay off debts, and leave the duchy within a year. As a consequence, Jewish people were expelled from Opole in 1563, not a single one remaining in the town by 1565.

In May 1713, Emperor Charles VI issued an edict of tolerance allowing Jews to settle in Silesia after paying a special tolerance tax. Under the edict, Jews were granted the right to conduct trade as pedlars in Silesia. However, the privilege did not apply to the towns of Prudnik, Głubczyce, Racibórz, Kożle, Opole, and Nysa. Further changes followed the transfer of Silesia to Prussia in 1742. In December 1746, the Prussian authorities forced the municipal authorities of Opole to grant a settlement permit to Isaac Elias Haber, a Jew from Prague, together with his family and servants.

In 1761, two Jewish merchant families settled in Opole. The town had fifteen Jewish residents in 1766, 31 in 1807, and 43 in 1811. The community ran its own school and house of prayer, both set up in rented premises.

In 1837, there were 329 Jews living in Opole (4.8% of the total population). The community grew rapidly during this period. In 1852, Opole had 533 Jewish residents, in 1864 – 664, and in 1885 – 764. A new synagogue was built between 1893 and 1897. The community grew rapidly during this period.

The turn of the 20th century saw increased emigration of Upper Silesian Jews to major urban centres within Germany, Opole was not largely affected by this trend. In 1900, there were 696 Jews living in the city.

The dusk of the community, occupying a prominent position in the life of the city, actually came only under the Nazi regime after 1933. In 1936, there were 453 Jews living in Opole.

During the so-called Kristallnacht of 9/10 November 1938, organised pogroms against the Jewish population and a synagogue was burned down and numerous properties were vandalized. The census of May 1939 showed 280 Jews residing in Opole.

Opole's Jewish community was exterminated between 1942 and 1944, mainly through successive transports to the Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto and from there to German Nazi concentration camps.

After the end of World War II, Polish Jews began to settle in the town. The local Jewish Religious Congregation was active for several years. As the Jews started to migrate to other Polish cities or abroad, the organised community in Opole dissipated.

Polish Jews began to settle in the town. The local Jewish Religious Congregation was active for several years. As the Jews started to migrate to other Polish cities or abroad, the organised community in Opole dissipated. Currently only several people of Jewish origin live in the town.

The Description

The Jewish cemetery in Opole is located between today’s Józefa Waleckiego and Graniczna streets, before 1945 named Oppelnerstrasse and Fabrikstrasse. Prior to its foundation, the Jews of Opole buried their dead in Biała and Dobrodzień.

The local Jewish community was granted the city’s permission to establish its own cemetery on 3 July 1816. On 24 December of the same year, the community authorities put forward a proposal for the location of the necropolis – it was to be established on a plot of land of ca. 1,200 square metres belonging to the farmer Josef Kurpiers, located within the boundaries of the village of Nowa Wieś Królewska, southeast of the city centre. The municipal authorities accepted the submission and, on 16 February 1817, granted the community permission to purchase the plot for the price of 600 thalers.

The first person to be buried in the newly established cemetery was nine-month-old Jette Sachs, who died on 8 April 1817, while the first adult (and the seventh person overall) was teacher and shochet Gumpel Posner, who died on 29 October 1821 at the age of 55. His gravestone has survived to the present day.

As the cemetery started to fill up, the community concluded an agreement with farmer B. Duda on 21 March 1866, purchasing from him a plot of land covering the area of 0.44 hectares. About half of the parcel was immediately incorporated into the cemetery and the rest was left as a reserve – it only started to be used in 1903. Following the expansion, the cemetery grounds came to cover ca. 5,550 square metres.

Having received official permission from the town hall in 1877, the community also erected several buildings on the cemetery premises: a pre-burial house with the headquarters of the Chevra Kadisha right next to the entrance, and a flat for the caretaker-gardener and utility rooms in the south-eastern part of the necropolis, in the reserve area. In 1930, the fence was to be completely remodelled; however, the project was only completed in the northern part of the necropolis, with the old concrete fence replaced with an ornamental sandstone wall. The works were discontinued due to lack of funds.

In total, over 1,000 people were laid to rest in the Opole cemetery. Apart from the inhabitants of Opole itself, the cemetery also served Jews living in Prószków and many other surrounding villages and colonies forming part of the Opole religious community: Borek, Brzezie, Czarnowąsy, Świerkle, and Wróblin – today a district of Opole, Antoniów, Bierdzany, Biestrzynnik, Budzieszowice, Chrząstowice, Chróścice, Chrząszczyce, Daniec, Dębska Kuźnia, Dobrzeń Maly, Dobrzeń Wielki, Grodziec, Jełowa, Kadłub Turawski, Kąty Opolskie, Kotorz Mały, Kotorz Wielki, Krasiejów, Ligota Turawska, Luboszyce, Lubniany, Masów, Nakło, Osowiec, Polska Nowa Wieś, Raszowa, Schodnia, Szczedrzyk, Tarnów Opolski, Węgry, Zawada, and Zimnice Wielkie. Regular burials were held until the end of 1942. The last person buried at the site was probably Mathilde Emilie Appel née Persicaner, who died on 13 November 1942 at the age of 89.

On 4 July 1939, the necropolis became property of the Association of Jews in Germany, represented by the local office in Gliwice and appointed deputy – Harry Wolff from Opole. No damages were recorded at the site before July 1940. On 10 June 1943, the cemetery was seized by the Gestapo and placed under the administration of the district tax office. It probably survived intact until the end of World War II.

In 1946, the cemetery was placed under the administration of the Congregation of Mosaic Faith in Wrocław, which in 1947 renovated the pre-burial house and employed a caretaker. After his death in 1957, the cemetery was left unattended and gradually deteriorated, destroyed mostly by human hand. Numerous tombstones were plundered. The last burial at the site took place in 1960. In 1963, the cemetery was officially closed.

In 1969, the section of the cemetery holding the pre-burial house, mortuary, and caretaker's flat was separated from the rest of the grounds. The buildings were demolished, and the area was developed. In the years 1976–1977, a brick wall was erected on the southern and western side of the necropolis, together with a new entrance gate from Graniczna Street.

The condition of the cemetery is fairly good. The grass is regularly mowed.

About 800 whole tombstones and their large fragments, the pedestals of stelae and grave enclosures, numerous grave mounds without tombstones, and fragments of a brick fence on three sides have survived.

Author of the note: Sławomir Pastuszka

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