Trying to retrace the history of the Odessa Jewish Cemeteries is not an easy task. There are multiple contradicting sources.
According ot the US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad as compiled by the Odessa entry at the International Jewish Cemetery Project, there were 5 different cemeteries in Odessa, all of them "visited" in 1994. This entry compiles also know mass graves in Odessa.
According to many other sources there were only three Jewish cemeteries in Odessa where the first two were destroyed respectively in 1936 and 1978.
There is also a Jewish Section at the General Cemetery of Odessa.
The following information tries to compile the different information available.
1st Jewish Cemetery
Also called the Old Jewish Cemetery, it was a section of the first Odessa Cemetery (including the Ortodox, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim quarters).
It was established in 1792, shotly after Odessa foundation and was active until the end of the 19th century.
The cemetery was destroyed in 1936. In 2021 on its place you'll find the Peobrajensky Park.
A book from 1889 about the tombstones inscriptions of the Odessa Old and New Jewish Cemetery is available at the Odessa Books Database and the names and inscriptions of this book have been integrated into the All Odessa Database (AODB).
Picture of the 1st Jewish Cemetery image source: wikimedia.org
Remains from the gate of the central entrance to the 1st Jewish cemetery, now the house 11 on Vodoprovodna Street
image source: wikimedia.org
From source Odessa Jewish Community (Migdal.ru):
The first jewish cemetery was one of 4 parts (with Ortodox, Catholic and Muslim) of the First Cemetery of Odessa (1794-1890) that was located near Privoz market. It was destroyed by communists in the 1930's and now on this place you'll find Odessa Zoo, amusement park and Peobrajensky park.
From source mitzvatemet.com:
The first Jewish cemetery appeared on the shores of the Khadzhibey Estuary even before the advent of Odessa - in the seventies of the XVIII century. There is no trace left of the cemetery. Necropolis was wiped from the face of the Earth during the Great Patriotic War, and in its place grew a stadium and a pit for the future basin.
From source IAJG cemetery project:
ODESSA I: US Commission No. UA15010101
The Jewish cemetery was established in 1792 with last known Jewish burial in 1830s. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked Hasidic cemetery. The urban flat land, part of a municipal cemetery, has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds the cemetery. No stones are visible. Location of any removed stones is unknown. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns property used for "other." Properties adjacent are commercial-industrial and residential. The cemetery boundaries are smaller now than 1939. The cemetery was not vandalized in the last ten years. There is no maintenance now. Within the limits of the cemetery is a pre-burial house. Very serious threat: vandalism and proposed nearby development.
Oks Vladimir Moiseevich of 270065,Odessa, Varnenskaya St. 17D, Apt. 52 [Phone: (0482)665950] visited site on 7/10/94. Interviewed were local residents. Odesskaya Oblast/Oks completed survey on 07/10/1994. Other documentation exists but was inaccessible.
2nd Jewish Cemetery
Also called the New Jewish Cemetery, it was established in 1873 and was active until 1950.
The cemetery was destroyed in 1978. On its place in 2021 you'll find the Artillery Park.
A book from 1889 about the tombstones inscriptions of the Odessa Old and New Jewish Cemetery is available at the Odessa Books Database and the names and inscriptions of this book have been integrated into the All Odessa Database (AODB).
Picture of the 2nd Jewish Cemetery main gate image source: foundagrave.com
From source Odessa Jewish Community (Migdal.ru):
The second Jewish cemetery (1873-1960) was in front of 2nd Cristian cemetery and was destroyed by the communists in the 1970's. Now you'll find Artillery Park and a monument dedicated to murdered during Civil War Odessan communists.
So only if someone from your family moved the remains to the 3rd Jewish Cemetery or to the 2nd Cristian, you'll be able to see the graves. But there are very good Jewish organizations in Odessa, who saved all possible archives and if you'll write them for help they'll might find something about your family..
From source findagrave.com:
The Second New Jewish cemetery was opened in Odessa in 1873 to the left of the road to the Bolshoy Fountain - then and nowadays the Lustdorf road. In the territory of the cemetery was built a ritual hall by architect F.A. Troupyanskiy. The cemetery was surrounded by a wall. The front part of the wall with two gates by architect A.B. Minkus was resembling the famous Wall of Wailing in Jerusalem.
"... The old tailor's apprentice showed his boss a hundred-year history of Odessa, resting under the granite slabs. He showed him the monuments and crypts of wheat exporters, ship brokers and merchants who built the Russian Marseille at the site of the village of Hadzhibey. They lay here facing the gates - Ashkenazi, Hessen and Efrussi - the lustrous misers, philosophizing revelers, creators of wealth and Odessa's anecdotes. They lay under the monuments of a labrador and pink marble, fenced off with chains of chestnuts and acacias from the plebs that clung to the walls ... " Isaac Babel "The End of the Almshouse."
Many Jews were buried here during the long years of the existence of this cemetery. Among them are the writers Mendele-Moyher Sforim and Lazar Karmen, the poet S. Frug, the founder of the Odessa emergency medical station Professor Yakov Bardach, the architect A. Minkus, the Odessa businessman E. Babel, the father of the writer Isaak Babel, who was shot during the Great Terror. At the same cemetery were buried about 300 Jews - victims of the 1905 pogrom. Later, a memorial made of granite slabs was erected on their grave.
In the 1950s, the cemetery was officially closed, and further burials on it were prohibited. The cemetery was destroyed by order of the authorities in 1974 and by 1978 it was completely vanished. Monuments and all structures were demolished, burials were not transferred, only a few cases of burial transfer are known. Now the former territory of the cemetery is the Artillery Park.
For decades the Jewish community of Odessa sought from the city authorities for permission to build a memorial on the site of the former territory of the cemetery. In the spring of 2011 such permission was finally received. Simultaneously with the construction of the memorial, the Artillery Park itself is also to be refined.
As of 2017 the former 2nd New Jewish Cemetery renamed into the Artillery Park doesn't have a single bench. It looks rather abandoned and residents of Odessa are trying to avoid even walking through the grounds.
From source mitzvatemet.com:
By the end of 19th century, Odessa is the third city in the world by the number of Jewish population (35% of the population was Jews). The mortality rate was quite large, and there was a need arose for a new cemetery. The second necropolis was founded in 1873 along the Lustdorf road. The fence of the cemetery and the gate were made by the famous Odessa architect A. Minkus. Monuments of the second Jewish cemetery were made of expensive materials.
This place is famous for the fact that many famous personalities and their relatives are buried here: the artist Leonid Pasternak, the great-grandfather of Boris Pasternak, the Russian writer and poet; the writer Mendele-Moyher Sfori; J. Bardach, the founder of the first aid in Odessa; family of doctors Geshelins; architect Adolf Minkus; poet Anatoly Fioletov, brother of Osip Shor, father and grandmother of Isaac Babel; mother of Ilia Ilf; father of cameraman Roman Carmen.
The most terrible annihilation of Jews happened on October 19-21, 1905. During the pogrom died 302 people. All the dead Jews were buried at the second Jewish necropolis.
After the Second World War, the second Jewish cemetery was also destroyed. The government stipulated that the burial grounds, which are not well maintained and defeated, will be removed. And, beginning from the middle of 1950, they began to take out the tombstones
From source IAJG cemetery project:
ODESSA III: US Commission No. UA15010103
The Jewish cemetery was established in 1873 with last known Jewish burial in 1975. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked Hasidic cemetery. The isolated urban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds the cemetery. Stones were removed to another cemetery. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns property used for agriculture (crops or animal grazing), recreation (park, playground, sports), residential, and other. Properties adjacent are commercial or industrial, residential and other. The cemetery boundary is unchanged since 1939. Frequently, organized Jewish tours or pilgrimage groups and private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II and frequently in the last ten years. . Jewish individuals and groups within country did re-erection of stones, patched broken stones, cleaned stones, cleared vegetation, fixed wall and fixing of gate in 1946-1975. There is no maintenance now. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem, preventing access. Very serious threat: uncontrolled access, weather erosion, pollution, vegetation, and existing nearby and proposed development.
Odesskaya Oblast 270065, Odessa, Varnenskaya St. 17D, Apt. 52 [Phone: (0482)665950] visited site and completed survey on 6/21/94. Interviewed were local residents. Other documentation exists but was inaccessible.
3rd Jewish Cemetery
The third Jewish cemetery was established after WWII. It is the only Jewish Cemetery currently active in Odessa (there's also a Jewish section in the General Cemetery).
A visit to the third Jewish cemetery by Sheila Simkin.
... a unique Jewish Cemetery ... where the grave monuments were inscribed with pictures of the deceased
From source mitzvatemet.com:
The third Jewish cemetery in Odessa is one of the largest cemeteries in Ukraine. Its origin dates back to 1945 and has about 50 thousand burials. Here, along the numerous avenues, monuments or simple stones rise in memory of those who are no longer with us. However, there are a large number of abandoned graves that have grown with grass and no names at all. In the 1990s, many Jewish families moved massively from Odessa and now there is not always an opportunity to look after the burials of their relatives. According to the Jewish tradition, the graves of relatives are not often visited, on their birthday or in the yahrtzeit. According to the established custom, the flowers are not brought to the grave, but stones. There is an interesting explanation of why stones are brought. In the hot Arabian desert flowers wither very quickly, and the stones are almost eternal.
After WWII, the third Jewish cemetery was moved to the memorial of the victims of the pogrom of 1905, the remains of the rabbis’ burials.
Now the cemetery has a fairly well-groomed appearance despite the large number of abandoned burials. On such graves you can often see half-ruined tombstones, overgrown monuments, almost erased inscriptions.
At the moment, the Third Jewish Cemetery is open for burial. All funerals are performed here according to all religious traditions, and every burial is made according to the requirements of the Jewish law.
Odessa II
This is a suburban cemetery of unknown location.
From source IAJG cemetery project:
US Commission No. UA15010102
Regional: Odesskiy oblispolkom.
The Jewish cemetery was established in 1854 with last known Jewish burial 1940. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked Hasidic cemetery. The suburban agricultural hill has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds the cemetery. No stones are visible or removed. The oldest known gravestone dated from 1854. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns property used for agriculture (crops or animal grazing). Properties adjacent are commercial or industrial, agricultural and residential. The cemetery boundaries are smaller now than 1939 because of agriculture and other. Occasionally, local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II. There is no maintenance now. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Water drainage at the cemetery is a seasonal problem. Very serious threat: uncontrolled access, vegetation, vandalism and proposed nearby development. Moderate threat: weather erosion, pollution and existing nearby development.
Oks Vladimir Moiseevich of 270065, Odessa, Varnenskaya St. 17D, Apt. 52 [Phone: (0482)665950] visited site and completed survey on 7/25/94. Interviewed were local residents. Other documentation exists but was inaccessible.
Odessa IV
This is an urban cemetery of unknown location.
The IAJG information says that it was established in 1892 with unchanged boundaries since 1939 and was in use during its visit in 1994.
It is most probably refering to the 3rd Jewish Cemetery that was established after WWII and confusing years due to old graves moved from the 2nd cemetery
From source IAJG cemetery project:
US Commission No. UA15010104
Town officials: Odessa City ispolkom, mayor-Gurvits Eduard Iosifovich (0482)232510. Society of Historical Monuments Preservation, Melnik Valentin Ivanovich (0482)251412.
Regional: Odessa oblispolkom, Dept. of Culture, Borodavko Roman Isaakovich (0482)251351 and Podderskaya Natalya Anatolyevna (0482)225345.
Town officials: Odessa Oblast Fond of Culture, Masherova Dina Mikhaylovna (0482)283523.
Caretaker with key: Director Marushchenko Nikolay Andreevich (0482)332415.
Jewish Community: Chechelnitskiy Shimon (0482)247296 and Milshteyn Feliks Ilich (0482)226510. Living here were V. Zhabotinskiy and H.N. Bialik.
The Jewish cemetery was established in 1892 with last known Jewish burial 1994. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked Hasidic cemetery. The isolated urban flat land has no sign, but has Jewish symbols on gate or wall. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. A continuous masonry wall with a locking gate surrounds the cemetery. More than 5000 stones, all in original location with none toppled or broken, date from 1892 to 20th century. Location of any removed stones is unknown. The cemetery has special sections for rabbis and karaims [sic]. Some tombstones have traces of painting on their surfaces, iron decorations or lettering, bronze decorations or lettering, other metallic elements, portraits on stones and/or metal fences around graves. The cemetery contains marked mass graves. Municipality owns property used for Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent are commercial or industrial. The cemetery boundaries are unchanged since 1939. Frequently, organized Jewish tours or pilgrimage groups , organized individual tours, Jewish or non-Jewish private visitors and local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II and occasionally in the last ten years. Local/municipal authorities, Jewish individuals within country and abroad, and Jewish groups within country did re-erection of stones, patched broken stones, and cleaned stones in 1945-1948 and 1988. The Jewish Congregation, local contribution, and Jewish survivors pay the regular caretaker. Within the limits of the cemetery is a pre-burial house, more than one ohel, a well, and administration. The pre-burial house has a tahara (table), wall inscriptions, and a chimney. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access, pollution, vegetation and vandalism. Slight threat: weather erosion.
Oks Vladimir Moiseevich of 270065, Odessa, Varnenskaya Steet 17D, Apt. 52 [Phone: (0482)665950] visited site and completed survey on 10/24/94. Interviewed were Stashinskiy B.P. of Odessa on 10/24/94.
Odessa VI
This is a suburban cemetery north of Odessa city. Known as the Soldier's Settlement Cemetery, it was established around 1840 and was active until mid-20th century. It was destroyed to build a construction plant. In 2021 on its place there's an industrial zone.
From source IAJG cemetery project:
US Commission No. UA15010105
The cemetery is located at Baltinskaya Doroga #136-148. Living here were Vladimir (Zev) Zhabotinskiy, Sholom Alekhem, Semen Frug, Mendele Moyhes-Sforim, and Haim-Nahman Bialik. The last known Jewish burial was 1941. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked Hasidic cemetery. The isolated suburban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open with permission. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds the cemetery. No stones are visible. Location of any removed stones is unknown. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns property used for industrial or commercial use. Properties adjacent are commercial or industrial. The cemetery boundaries are smaller now than 1939 because of commercial-industrial development. Rarely, local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II. There is no maintenance now. Within the limits of the cemetery are no Structures, no threats.
Oks Vladimir Moiseevich of 270065, Odessa, Varnenskaya Steet 17D, apt.52 [Phone: (0482)665950] visited site and completed survey in 02/1995. Interviewed were Shuvalov P.A. of Odessa in 02/1995. Other documentation exists but was inaccessible.
From source poskot.od.ua:
There is very little public information about the cemetery of the Soldier's settlement of Odessa. It is known that it has been located on the Baltic Road since 1840 and occupied 0.4 hectares. He suffered the fate of the Plague Cemetery. The burials of Soldatskaya Sloboda were liquidated in connection with the construction of the Construction Plant (Baltskaya Doroga, 148). Now the plant itself is not experiencing the best of times, perhaps due to the location "on the bones". Although, how to know ..
