CEMETERY FOCUS: Kozienice, Masovia, Poland

Details of Access: The site is accessed by turning directly off a public road.

Location & Demarcation: The cemetery is situated in an isolated urban location, on a hillside. A road / entrance sign in Polish marks the site as a Jewish cemetery. The cemetery entrance is a locked iron door.
A plaque at the entrance port bears the following inscription in Polish: “Jewish Cemetery – Heritage site protected by law. Patron – Rabbi Mendel Reichberg. The key is available from +48 502 918 929.”
An iron fence set on a red brick wall and pillars, and a locking gate forms the cemetery boundary. The gate bears Jewish symbols. The cemetery can be accessed by prior arrangement with the key holder. Many Jewish pilgrims and others visit the cemetery frequently. The local municipality currently owns the cemetery.

Graves, Gravestones, Memorial Markers & Structures: This protected cemetery, currently measuring 4 Hectares, (down from the pre-WWII area dimensions of 5.9 Hectares), was established in the 17th century. Only 80 remaining gravestones are to be found dispersed through the site, the oldest dated 1821, and the most recent dated 1943. Within the cemetery is a special memorial monument for the holocaust victims, and an an ohel in which is buried Rabbi Yisrael Hopstein ( 1733-1814), known as the Magid of Kozienice, a tzaddik, one of the main Chasidic leaders and the founder of the Kozienice chassidic dynasty (Koznitser chassidim). The Cemetery Was Vandalized during WWII, and the cemetery has suffered from some Vandalism gravestones. Removed stones were incorporated into Wojcikow Street.

Present Cemetery Care: The caretaker carries out occasional clearing or cleaning. Full renovation and restoration works were implemented in recent years. Security and vegetation are both under control. However, weather erosion, pollution and incompatible nearby developments are moderate threats.

History of the Jewish Community: Jews are recorded as living in Kozienice in 1607. Throughout the 19th century, the town was an important hasidic centre. Rabbi Yisrael Hopstein, the Maggid of Kozienitz, set up a dynasty there. In September 1939, the Nazis burnt down the synagogue and shot those who tried to save the Torah scrolls. In autumn 1940 the ghetto was sealed off. More than 13,000 Jews were confined to the ghetto, including refugees from Magnuszew and Glowaczów. A typhoid epidemic killed many people in the winter of 1941-1942. In September 1942, 8000 Jews from the Kozienice ghetto were sent to Treblinka.

Alternative Town Names: Kozhenitz, Kozhnits, Kozhnitz, Koznity, קוזיאניץ, קוז’ניץ

Source: E. Bindiger. Images © Lo Tishkach Foundation