In the 15th century, Jewish merchants were granted permission to conduct trade in Paczków. In response, the municipal authorities adopted the de non tolerandis Judaeis privilege issued by King Vladislav of Bohemia, banning Jews from settling in the city.

Modern Jewish settlement began after the issuance of the so-called Emancipation Edict in 1812. At the time this act was issued, there were no Jews in Paczków yet, but in 1841, the town was already inhabited by 309 Jews (8.8% of the total population).

The turn of the 20th century saw increased emigration of Upper Silesian Jews to major urban centres within Germany. By the 1930s, there were only remains of the former community here; there is no information available on how the events so-called Kristallnacht of 9/10 November 1938 unfolded in Paczków.

The Description

The Jewish cemetery in Paczków was established no later than 1820, as evidenced by the oldest gravestone recorded at the site in May 1941. The plot of land holding the necropolis was granted to Jewish community by the town in usufruct, but in 1894 it was formally purchased by the Jewish community in Nysa.

The cemetery was established north-west of the town, on the edge of the valley of the Nysa Kłodzka River, at the end of today’s Miraszewskiego Street. The area was originally surrounded by fields, but now is almost completely wooded.

In June 1940, the necropolis was in good condition and there were no signs of devastation. In May 1941, the premises held 63 graves with headstones and about 10 earth graves. The area was surrounded with an iron fence. On the side of the road – outside the fence – a small brick outbuilding was located.

The last three burials in the cemetery took place consecutively in 1932, 1938, and 1941. The last person buried at the site was Elisabeth Leipziger née Kapauner, who died on 3 May 1941 in Nysa and was buried two or three days later next to her husband (d. 4 February 1932).

On 4 July 1939, the necropolis became the property of the Association of Jews in Germany represented by its local office in Gliwice. On 10 June 1943, it was taken over by the Gestapo and placed under the administration of the district tax office. It most likely survived intact until 1945.

After World War II, the cemetery was left unattended and gradually deteriorated, partially destroyed. At the present time, one can find about 50 stone and brick elements, broken matzevot and their fragments, there are also discernible remains of foundations (probably of a pre-burial house) and relics of a fence. The old-growth forest - 3 oak trees - has also been preserved.

Author of the note: Sławomir Pastuszka

Właściciel praw autorskich do opisu: Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.