Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....
in Europe. Located on Warsaw's
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
Okopowa street and abutting the Powązki Cemetery
Powazki Cemetery
Powązki Cemetery , also known as the Stare Powązki is a historic cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city, and one of the oldest...
at 52°14′51"N 20°58′29"E, the Jewish Cemetery was established in 1806 and occupies 33 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (83 acres) of land. The cemetery contains over 200,000 marked graves, as well as mass graves of victims of the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
. Many of these graves and crypts are overgrown, having been abandoned after the German invasion of Poland and subsequent Holocaust. Although the cemetery was closed down during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, after the war it was reopened and a small portion of it remains active, serving Warsaw's small remaining Jewish population.
As the cemetery was established to replace many smaller cemeteries closer to the city centre, it was designed to serve all Jewish communities of Warsaw, regardless of their affiliation. Because of that it is subdivided onto several districts dubbed quarters (kwatery), historically reserved for various groups. Among them are three Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
(for men, women and one for holy scriptures), Reform Judaism, children, military and Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
Uprising victims.
The cemetery, which has become a dense forest in the post-war period, is filled with monuments to Jewish communists, orthodox rabbis, and everyone in between. Many of the markers are simple, others are elaborately carved with Art nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
angels drooping mournfully over a tomb or with large, elaborate bas relief panoramas of a somewhat imaginary medieval Warsaw. Large mausoleums appear in styles ranging from Egyptian revival to Art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
.
History
In 1806 the Warsaw's Jewish Commune petitioned the government to establish a new cemetery for Jewish inhabitants of Warsaw. The lot chosen was located right outside of the city limits in the borough of WolaWola
Wola is a district in western Warsaw, Poland, formerly the village of Wielka Wola, incorporated into Warsaw in 1916. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it is slowly changing into an office and residential district...
, next to a new Catholic Powązki Cemetery
Powazki Cemetery
Powązki Cemetery , also known as the Stare Powązki is a historic cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city, and one of the oldest...
established in 1790. The petition was accepted and in the following year the cemetery was established, together with Chevra kadisha
Chevra Kadisha
A chevra kadisha is a loosely structured but generally closed organization of Jewish men and women who see to it that the bodies of Jews are prepared for burial according to Halacha and are protected from desecration, willful or not, until burial...
. The earliest headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
was dated December 6, 1806 and belonged to certain Nachum son of Nachum of Siemiatycze
Siemiatycze
Siemiatycze is a town in north-eastern Poland, with 15,209 inhabitants . It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship ; previously it was in Białystok Voivodeship . It is the capital of Siemiatycze County....
, but it did not survive to our times. The first woman interred there was certain Elka Junghoff, daughter of Jehuda Leib Mulrat of Kalisz
Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
. Her tombstone is dated November 26, 1804, but the date is most likely wrong. Hence the oldest surviving headstone belongs to Sara, daughter of Eliezer (died September 8, 1807).
During the first decades of its' existence the new Okopowa Street cemetery was used mostly by the higher strata of Jewish society, with poorer Jews interred in the Praga Jewish Cemetery in the easternmost borough of Bródno
Bródno
Bródno is a neighbourhood in the Warsaw's borough of Targówek, located on the eastern side of the Vistula river. It is inhabited by approximately 100 thousand people. Among the most notable landmarks are the Bródno Park and the Bródno cemetery, the largest cemetery in Warsaw and one of the largest...
, on the right bank of the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
. Despite that the cemetery quickly became overcrowded and already in 1824 it had to be expanded. Around that time the Tsarist
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
authorities took over the administration of the cemetery from Chevra kadisha and by 1850 established a separate Funeral Administration. The first on-site funeral home
Funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
was established in 1828, but already in 1831 it was destroyed by Russian Army in the course of the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
. A new building was erected the following year and further expanded in 1854. In the meantime the necropolis was extended twice: in 1840 and 1848. Around that time it became the main Jewish cemetery of Warsaw, for rich and poor alike.
Historically the cemetery was separated from the city centre and the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
by a deep ditch, the so-called Lubomirski's Rampart, created in 1777 to stop the spread of plague and as a tax measure. It was not until 1873 that both Jewish and Catholic communities were allowed to build a bridge across the ditch to facilitate access to both cemeteries. In 1860 and 1863 the cemetery was extended again and in 1869 reached its' present form. However, it began to overcrowd and in 1885 all burials financed by the Jewish community (i.e. of the poor) were directed to the Bródno cemetery. In 1877 several notable Jewish families of Warsaw financed a new late Neo-Classical building by Adolf Schimmelpfennig housing a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
and two burial houses (one for men and one for women). The second floor was reserved for rabbi's flat.
As the cemetery was used by all groups of Warsaw's Jewry, conflicts arose over control of the cemetery and various burial-related issues. In 1913 it was agreed to split it onto four parts: one for Orthodox Jews, one for Reformed, one for Children and one for military and state burials. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the cemetery again became overcrowded. Because of that a mound or earthwork terrace was erected over a quarter previously reserved for children to allow for more burials. Between 1918 and 1936 fourteen such mounds were created. In 1930s the entire cemetery was surrounded with a high wall and in 1939 a construction started on Mausoleum of Jews Fighting for Polish Independence. Works were stopped by the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and German occupation of Poland.
During the war the cemetery had been partly demolished. German forces used it for mass executions and burial of victims of Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
, Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
of 1944 and other mass murders. Those burials included both Jews and non-Jews. Following the fall of the Ghetto Uprising, on May 15, 1943 the Germans blew up all buildings in the area of the cemetery, including the synagogue and burial houses. Only a small well survived to this day. Further damage was done to the cemetery during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, when the front line passed directly through the cemetery. After the war the cemetery was reopened. The Communist authorities of Poland planned a road directly through the middle of the cemetery, but the plans were never carried out.
In 1990s the neglected cemetery started to be renovated for the first time since 1930s, mostly by the re-created Warsaw Jewish Commune and the Nissenbaum Family Foundation, as well as the City of Warsaw municipal government. The cemetery is still open, with 20 to 30 new burials every year.
Notable interments
- Solomon Anski, writer (Solomon Zangwill Rappaport), author of "The Dybbuk"
- Szymon AskenazySzymon AskenazySzymon Askenazy was a Polish historian, diplomat and politician, founder of the Askenazy school....
, archaeologist - Meir BalabanMeir BalabanMajer Bałaban was one of the most outstanding historians of Polish and Galician Jews, and the founder of Polish Jewish historiography.-Early years:...
- Naftali Zvi Yehuda BerlinNaftali Zvi Yehuda BerlinNaftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, , also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, dean of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several works of rabbinic literature in Lithuania.- Family :Berlin was born in Mir, Russia in 1816 into a family of Jewish...
, Rosh yeshiva of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several major Jewish works - Mathias Bersohn, philanthropist
- Adam CzerniakowAdam CzerniakówAdam Czerniaków , born in Warsaw, Poland, was a Polish-Jewish engineer and senator to the prewar Polish Sejm for Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government...
, head of the Judenrat in the Warsaw Ghetto - Szymon DatnerSzymon DatnerSzymon Datner was a Polish historian of Jewish descent, best known for his studies of Nazi war crimes committed against the Jewish population of the Białystok area after the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941.Datner settled into Białystok in 1928...
, historian - Jacob Dinezon (1852-1919), writer
- Marek EdelmanMarek EdelmanMarek Edelman was a Jewish-Polish political and social activist and cardiologist.Before World War II, he was a General Jewish Labour Bund activist. During the war he co-founded the Jewish Combat Organization. He took part in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, becoming its leader after the death of...
- Maksymilian FajansMaksymilian FajansMaksymilian Fajans was a Jewish–Polish artist, lithographer and photographer.-Life:Fajans studied at Warsaw's School of Fine Arts in 1844–49, and in 1850–53 in Paris, where he was a pupil of the Dutch–French painter Ary Scheffer.Fajans established one of the first photography studios in Warsaw...
, artist, lithographer and photographer - Maurycy Fajans, founder of the first steamboat line on the Vistula
- Alexander FlambergAlexander FlambergAlexander Flamberg was a Polish chess master.-Biography:Alexander Davidovich Flamberg born in Warsaw , spent his early years in England, where he learnt to play chess. After return to Warsaw, he became one of the strongest Polish chess players. In 1900, he took 2nd, behind Salomon Langleben, in...
, chess master - Edward FlatauEdward FlatauEdward Flatau was a Polish neurologist. His work greatly influenced the developing field of neurology. He established neurobiologic and neuropathological sciences in Poland...
, neurologist - Uri Nissan GnessinUri Nissan GnessinUri Nissan Gnessin was a Russian Jewish writer, generally considered a pioneer in modern Hebrew literature.-Early life:He was born in Starodub, where his father was a rabbi...
, writer - Samuel GoldflamSamuel GoldflamSamuel Wulfowicz Goldflam was a Polish neurologist best known for his brilliant 1893 analysis of myasthenia gravis .-Life:...
, neurologist - Esther Rachel Kaminska (1870-1925), the "mother of Yiddish Theater", mother of Ida KaminskaIda KaminskaIda Kaminska was a Polish actress.-Early life:Born in Odessa, Russia she was the daughter of Yiddish stage actress Esther Rachel Kamińska and actor, director and stage producer, Avram Izhak Kamiński . She reportedly married and divorced actor Marian Melman...
- Michał Klepfisz
- Izaak KramsztykIzaak KramsztykIzaak Kramsztyk was a reformed rabbi, preacher, lawyer and writer. He is credited as the first rabbinic teacher to teach Talmud in Polish language. He started a dynasty of Warsaw's benefactors, scientists and writers, which included his sons Zygmunt, Julian, Feliks, Stanisław and his grandson...
, rabbi and lawyer - Aleksander LesserAleksander LesserAleksander Lesser was a Polish painter and art critic of Jewish descent. Lesser specialized in Polish historic and contemporary themes...
, painter and art critic - Dow Ber MeiselsDow Ber MeiselsDow Ber Meisels was a Chief Rabbi of Kraków from 1832 and later, Chief Rabbi of Warsaw . He was a political activist in the Austrian partition of Poland and in the Russian partition...
, rabbi of Krakow and Warsaw - Samuel OrgelbrandSamuel OrgelbrandSamuel Orgelbrand was one of the most prominent Polish-Jewish printers and publishers of the 19th century. The person to discover the works of Józef Ignacy Kraszewski.-The monumental work - publishing the encyclopedia:...
, publisher of the Universal Encyclopaedia - Isaac Loeb Peretz (1852-1915) one of the most important Yiddish language writers of the 19th-20th centuries
- Samuel Abraham PoznańskiSamuel Abraham PoznanskiSamuel Abraham Poznański or Shemuel Avraham Poznanski was a Polish Reform rabbi and scholar, known for his studies of Karaism and the Hebrew calendar...
- Józef RóżańskiJózef RózanskiJózef Różański was a communist in prewar Second Polish Republic, member of the Soviet NKVD and later, colonel of the Stalinist Ministry of Public Security of Poland. Born into a Jewish family in Warsaw, Różański became active in the Communist Party of Poland before World War II...
, communist activist - Hayyim Selig SlonimskiHayyim Selig SlonimskiHayyim Selig Slonimski was a Hebrew publisher, astronomer, inventor, and science author.-Biography:Hayyim Selig Slonimski was born in Byelostok, Russian Empire March 31, 1810....
, Hebrew publisher, astronomer, inventor and science author - Chaim SoloveitchikChaim SoloveitchikChaim Soloveitchik , also known as Reb Chaim Brisker, was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the popular Brisker approach to Talmudic study within Judaism. He was born in Volozhin in 1853, where his father, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik served as a lecturer in the famous...
, founder of the Brisk rabbinic dynasty & the "brisker method" of Talmudic study - Julian StryjkowskiJulian StryjkowskiJulian Stryjkowski was a Polish journalist and writer, notable for his social prose of leftists character.He was born April 27, 1905 in Stryj , to a family of Hasidic Jews...
, (born Pesach Stark) 1905-1996, writer, author of "Austeria" "Voices in Darkness" - Hipolit Wawelberg, founder of Warsaw Technical College,
- Szymon WinawerSzymon WinawerSzymon Abramowicz Winawer , born in Warsaw, Poland, was a leading chess player who won the German Chess Championship in 1883...
, chess player - Lucjan WolanowskiLucjan WolanowskiLucjan Wilhelm Wolanowski , pseudonyms: Wilk; Waldemar Mruczkowski; W. Lucjański; ; lu; Lu; ; WOL., Polish journalist, writer and traveller....
- Ludwik ZamenhofL. L. ZamenhofLudwig Lazarus Zamenhof December 15, 1859 – April 14, 1917) was the inventor of Esperanto, the most successful constructed language designed for international communication.-Cultural background:...
, doctor and inventor of EsperantoEsperantois the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
.
External links
- Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery at Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Virtual Shtetl
- Website of an ongoing project of writing down all the names from the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery
- "Gesia" Jewish Cemetery Foundation - http://www.jewishcem.waw.pl/english/start.htm
- http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/aa100499.htm