History
A Jewish cemetery was established in Żuromin during the 1850s. Before that time, Jewish burials probably took place in nearby Kuczbork. The Żuromin cemetery served all sectors of the town’s Jewish community: Orthodox, Sephardic, Reform, and Progressive. Burials in the cemetery took place until 1939. The cemetery is approximately 0.87 hectares, or about 2.1 acres in size, and is located on S. Żeromskiego Street very near the Catholic cemetery.
During WWII, the Nazi occupiers of Żuromin removed all tombstones from the cemetery. According to former residents, at least some of these stones were turned face down and used as pavers in the courtyard of the German military head-quarters, located in the home that had belonged to the Reingewirz family. The subsequent fate and location of these stones are unknown, but it is believed they lie buried beneath subsequent layers of street paving.
For many years, no Jews visited the cemetery. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Jewish visitors to Żuromin found the cemetery it in a sorry state. There was no fence around the cemetery to protect it. There were no visible tombstones. In fact, there was no indication that this place was--or ever had been--a Jewish cemetery. The site was overgrown with vegetation, and loitering and trash-dumping occurred there. In addition, vehicular traffic had effectively turned part of the cemetery grounds into roadway.
Based on a 1991survey, the Żuromin cemetery was described by the International Jewish Cemetery Project, as follows:
“The isolated suburban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall, gate, or fence. The siŻe of the cemetery, both before World War II and now, is 0.87 hectares. There are no visible gravestones in the cemetery. One of the stones was moved to No. 6A Worynskiego Street. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a seasonal problem that prevents access. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II, but not in the last ten years with no maintenance. There are no structures or known mass graves. The municipality owns the property used both as a Jewish cemetery and for waste dumping. Properties adjacent the cemetery are commercial, industrial, and agricultural. Rarely, private visitors and local residents stop. The greatest threat is illegal dumping site.” [http://www.iajgs.org/cemetery/poland/Żuromin.html]
The photographs below show the cemetery site as it appeared in 2008.
Żuromin Cemetery Restoration Project
At the 2006 conference of the IAJGS in New York City, one of the sessions was a panel discussion dealing with cemetery restoration in Eastern Europe. The panel members spoke of various efforts underway to protect and restore Jewish cemeteries in Poland and elsewhere. Afterwards, several people with roots in Żuromin met to review the condition of the Jewish cemetery in Żuromin. They decided to explore the possibility of taking steps to restore its dignity.
After investigating various options, it was decided that their purpose would best be served by working with The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODŻ). The FODZ had successfully coordinated many presevation and memorial projects thoughout Poland.
Sandra Krisch, Perry Rosenstein, and Alter Goldstein organized as a committee for the project, with encouragement from Sol Plotka and the members of the Żuromin Landsmanschaft. By late 2008, the project was designed and the committee signed a contract with FODZ. The contract provided that the site would be surveyed, marked, and cleared. A wall would be built to enclose the cemetery grounds, entrance gates would be provided, and a plaque explaining the significance of the site as a Jewish cemetery would be installed. Town officials in Żuromin were supportive of the effort and offered to pave the dirt roadway running alongside the cemetery grounds.
During the first months of 2009, permits were obtained and preliminary steps were taken to prepare for the construction. Actual work at the cemetery began with the spring thaws, in April 2009. The construction works were completed by early July, 2009. The progress of the project was chronicled on the FODZ website: www.fodz.pl . A rededication ceremony took place on 15 July 2009 .
Four matzevot fragments were returned to their proper place and in 2011 plaques commemorating the Jewish society were installed on the cemetery wall.
Video of the unveiling of the two commemorative plaques:
The photo below shows how the enclosure was visualized at the start.
