Jewish Cemetery in Busko-Zdrój

Behind a stone wall on ul. Widuchowska, about a kilometre east of the centre of Busko-Zdrój, lies the cemetery of the spa town's former Jewish community. Not a single gravestone remains in its original place – the surviving matzevot have been gathered around a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. This is a place of remembrance and quiet, not a typical sight.

History: from community to Holocaust

Jews were only allowed to settle permanently in Busko from 1862; the community took shape in the 1880s, and a rabbi was confirmed in 1888. The cemetery was laid out by the road to Stopnica, and in 1928 more land was bought and the site was walled. At the entrance stood a funeral house with a caretaker's flat, and most of the matzevot were carved from local Chęciny conglomerate and sandstone. In 1921, 1,464 Jews lived in Busko. Most of them were murdered at Treblinka in October 1942.

During the liquidation of the ghetto, the Germans carried out executions at the cemetery, and the bodies were buried in mass graves. In 1943 two Polish women, Zofia Dytkowska and Helena Żurkiewicz, were also shot here for helping partisans. The Germans used some of the matzevot to pave pavements. After the war the cemetery was closed, and the land was used as pasture and a dump.

Remembrance

In 2016, through the cooperation of the town authorities, the Nissenbaum Family Foundation and private donors, the cemetery was cleaned up and fenced. A Holocaust memorial was placed in line with the gate, with a dozen or so surviving gravestones arranged around it, and plaques at the entrance commemorate the victims and the restoration. According to the ESJF survey, 2 complete matzevot and 41 fragments survive. The cemetery covers about 0.5 ha and is on the register of historic monuments.

Tripto tip

A visit takes 15–20 minutes. The cemetery is fenced, so check before you go whether the gate is open. Show the respect due to a burial ground, do not climb on the matzevot or move the fragments; men may cover their heads in keeping with Jewish custom. The visit fits easily with a walk through the spa park and the old villas of the resort.