The necropolis features tombstones of various types, mostly decorated.

History

The Jewish cemetery in Spacerowa and Kręta Streets was established around 1792. It was the second Jewish cemetery in Piotrków Trybunalski. The first one was built at the synagogue (between today’s Wojska Polskiego and Zamkowa Streets) under the privilege granted by king John III Sobieski in Jarosław on 16 March 1679. The privilege allowed Jews to settle in Wielka Wieś and in the Podzamcze suburb and to set up a synagogue and a cemetery.

At the end of the 18th century, the cemetery was filled to capacity.

It was decided then that a new burial ground would be established. It was built outside the town, on the so-called Zagórki (now at the intersection of Spacerowa and Kręta Streets).

The oldest burial part is situated to the north of the main alley, in a slightly elevated area. The preserved group of tombstones includes sandstone stelae dating back to the last decade of the 18th century.

In the western part of the cemetery, near the gravedigger’s house, there are graves of the local tzadiks:

• Chaim Dawid Bernard son of Isachar Ber of Działoszyn, who died on 4 February 1858, tzadik and doctor, disciple of Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz known as “the Seer of Lublin” and Dawid Biederman of Lelów,
• Meir Menachem Finkler, who died in the first quarter of the 20th century, tzadik from the Radoszyce dynasty,
• Isachar Dow Ber ha-Kohen, son of Awraham Cwi Tornheim of Wolbórz, who died on 8 October 1877, tzadik, disciple of Urie of Strzeliska, Isachar Dow of Radoszyce and Eliezer Hofstein of Kozienice,
• Menachem Mosze Waltfried, tzadik from Rozprza.

During the First World War, a quarter was created at the edge of the cemetery for soldiers who died in 1914 and 1915. Among the soldiers buried there was Jeno Kertesz.

At the cemetery, there are also marked mass graves of people shot by the Germans on 21 April 1943.

After 1945, the remains of people murdered and buried in the city or in its vicinity were transferred to the cemetery. During and after the Second World War, the cemetery was partly destroyed.

During the time of the Polish People’s Republic, bronze plaques were placed on the brick wall at the gate, in memory of the genocide of the Jewish people. The victims of Nazism were buried in two mass graves: one contains the remains of people killed at the cemetery and the other contains the remains of people exhumed in the Rakowski Forest. Three ohels of tzadiks were also restored and the figures important to the Jewish community of Piotrków (tzadik Chaim Dawid Bernard, the last rabbi of Piotrków, Mosze Chaim Lau, and the creator of many local matzevas, Aron Horowicz) were commemorated with plaques. A lapidary was created from the tombstones recovered during road renovation works. The salvaged tombstones were placed along the southern wall. In recent years, renovation works have been carried out at the cemetery.

In administrative terms, the Jewish cemetery in Piotrków belongs to the Łódź religious community.

It is one of about 20 Jewish cemeteries that are still used in Poland. At least 17 people have been buried there since 1945.

Description

The cemetery is situated on a land plot of an irregular shaped. From the west, it borders with Spacerowa Street and from the north - with Kręta Street. On the other sides, it adjoins private properties. Its area is approximately 3.5 ha. In the western corner, there is an entrance gate and a separate yard with a one-storey building, the former gravedigger’s house. Today, the cemetery caretaker lives there. The cemetery is surrounded by a brick wall.

The western part of the cemetery is the burial place of tzadiks and outstanding members of the community. The main alley of the cemetery lies along the east-west axis. On both sides of the avenue, there are quarters with sandstone monuments, decorated with reliefs and religious symbols. The oldest part of the cemetery is situated in a slightly elevated area in its northern part. The tombstones in this section are arranged in a rather haphazard manner. To the south of the alley, the tombstones are placed in regularly arranged quarters. All tombstones face east.

The cemetery area contains a large number of preserved horse chestnut trees. There are two alleys: one along the southern fence and one along the east-west axis.

The cemetery is open from Monday to Thursday from 09.00 to 16.00, on Fridays from 09.00 to 15.00 and on Sundays from 09.00 to 16.00. On Saturdays and on Jewish holidays, the cemetery is closed. Keys to the gate can be obtained from the caretaker.

Compiled by Agnieszka Lorenc-Karczewska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 17 April 2020

Bibliography

• Feldmann D, Rzędowska A., Getto żydowskie w okupowanym Piotrkowie, Piotrków Trybunalski 2014, pp. 201-202,
• Feinkind M., Dzieje Żydów w Piotrkowie i okolicy; od najdawniejszych czasów do chwili obecnej, Piotrków 1930 r. pp. 13, 17, 30-31.
• Warzocha D., Piotrkowskie judaika. Przewodnik, Łódź 2017, p. 35.
• An inventory of the remaining 1740 tombstones ordered by the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and it was completed by the Foundation for Documentation of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland
• https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/p/501-piotrkow-trybunalski/115-pamiec-w-kamieniu/27902-nowy-cmentarz-zydowski-w-piotrkowie-ul-spacerowa