New Jewish Cemetery in Lublin
The new Jewish cemetery on Walecznych Street in Lublin is one of the most important Jewish necropolises in the Lublin region and a place of remembrance of the centuries-old presence of the Jewish community in the city. It was established in 1828 when the Lublin Jewish Community purchased land outside the then city limits. The establishment of a new cemetery was necessary due to the overcrowding of the old necropolis, located on Grodzisko Hill, adjacent to the castle and the old town, and due to current regulations requiring cemeteries to be located outside densely built-up areas.
The first burials took place in the 1830s. The necropolis was gradually expanded through the purchase of additional plots, and by World War II, it covered over 8 hectares. In accordance with Jewish tradition, the grounds were divided into sections for women and men. There were also a funeral home, a well used for religious ceremonies, and ohels erected over the graves of prominent rabbis, including: Majer Yehuda Szapira and members of the Eiger dynasty. During World War I, a Jewish war cemetery was established at the southern edge of the cemetery, where soldiers who died fighting in the region were buried. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, victims of infectious disease epidemics, particularly the numerous recurrences of cholera that repeatedly struck Lublin, were also buried there.
During the German occupation, the cemetery continued to serve as a burial ground. Residents of the Lublin Ghetto, victims of German executions, and those who died from starvation, disease, and persecution were buried here. The necropolis was also the site of mass executions. After the liquidation of the Majdan Tatarski ghetto in the autumn of 1942, it was devastated. Most of the matzevot were used by the Germans as building material, including for hardening roads in the Majdanek concentration camp and other occupation facilities.
After the liberation of Lublin in 1944, burials resumed in part of the destroyed cemetery. Among those buried here are, among others, Jewish soldiers of the Polish Army, war victims, and individuals exhumed from mass murder sites. In subsequent years, the remains of Holocaust victims discovered in various locations in the Lublin region were also transferred to the necropolis.
The postwar years brought both attempts to save the cemetery and further destruction. In the late 1960s, the former necropolis was cut through by the construction of Anders Avenue, dividing it into two parts. The southern section remained operational, while the northern section was transformed into a square. The road construction involved disturbing burial grounds and sparked protests from Jewish communities.
A breakthrough came in the late 1980s thanks to the support of the Sara and Manfred Frenkl Foundation. Cleanup and conservation work was carried out, the fence was renovated, and in 1991, the Memorial Room was opened, whose architecture resembles the form of a traditional matzeva. Inside, there is a permanent exhibition devoted to the history of Lublin’s Jewish necropolises and a small prayer room. A distinctive feature of the complex is a fence composed of several hundred stylized gravestones, symbolizing the memory of the destroyed matzevot and the city’s once-large Jewish community.
The cemetery grounds include numerous memorials to the victims of the Holocaust, including a monument dedicated to the children murdered during the liquidation of the Jewish orphanage and a monument commemorating the victims of the Majdan Tatarski ghetto. Ohels of prominent rabbis have also survived, serving as a pilgrimage site for Hasidim from Poland and abroad.
Currently, the new Jewish cemetery covers approximately 8.6 hectares. Approximately 50 historic gravestones and numerous contemporary memorials have survived. The active section of the necropolis remains under the care of the Jewish Community, while the entire cemetery is listed in the register of historical monuments. For visitors, it is not only a place of rest but also an important space for reflection on the history of multicultural Lublin and the fate of its Jewish residents.
The “Forgotten Memory” project, which will take place as part of the Lubliner Festival on August 9th, is an artistic and educational activity devoted to the history of the former Jewish cemetery in Lublin and building awareness and respect for burial sites in accordance with Jewish tradition.
The project aims to draw the attention of city residents to the history of this site, which has largely lost its sacred character in the public consciousness over the years. Through educational, artistic, and social activities, we aim to restore the memory of this space, which was the burial place of members of Lublin’s former Jewish community, and to emphasize the importance of remembering the deceased in Jewish tradition.
The first element of the project, which we invite you to, together with artists Hanna Kossowska, is a family workshop for city residents and Lubliner Festival participants.
During the workshops, participants will learn the significance of the tradition of leaving stones on Jewish gravestones and the basic elements of Jewish law related to memory and respect for burial sites. We will also explain the concepts of shiva, tachara, and yortsait.
Then, we invite you to a walk through the green grounds of the Jewish cemetery, on Walecznych Street/corner of Andersa Street. This walk is dedicated to the forgotten Jewish necropolis and the memory of the community that for centuries co-shaped the history and identity of Lublin. The event aims to reclaim the memory of the city’s multicultural heritage through educational, artistic, and social activities.
Participants will be guided through the cemetery and sites connected with the history of Jewish Lublin by artists, educators, and social activists associated with the Jewish community: Dr. Hubert Mącik (Municipal Conservator of Monuments), Hanna Kossowska, Anna Bakuła, Sylwia Kędzierska, Etel Szyc, Witold Wrzesiński, and Remigiusz Sosnowski.
The walk will also include a street art performance, “Traces of Presence – Stencil Graffiti,” led by Arkadiusz Foltyński. The artistic activity will serve as a symbolic gesture of recalling the memory of absent residents and a reflection on the presence of traces of the past in contemporary Lublin.
After the walk, we invite you to the Kalinowszczyzna Cultural Center for a meeting summarizing the project dedicated to the forgotten Jewish cemetery on Andersa Street. Over coffee and refreshments, we will discuss memory, tradition, and the power of nurturing roots and building dialogue between cultures.
Sunday’s events and the 7th edition of the Lubliner Festival will conclude with a concert entitled “Forgotten Memory – Lechaim! For Life!” performed by actors from the Jewish Theatre in Warsaw.
You can find the detailed program of the project here (polish version).