The town developed at the crossroads of roads leading to Płock, Płońsk and Bodzanów. It was also conveniently located on the Vistula River, through which goods were transported to Gdańsk. From the 15th century it was the main center of cloth making in Masovia. The residents were engaged in agriculture, crafts and trade. Distilling also played a significant role. In the 17th century, a Jewish town was established on the so-called Podzamcze, whose inhabitants remained under the protection of the town mayors.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, a synagogue was built on the edge of the high Vistula escarpment under the Castle Mountain. At that time, the Jews outnumbered the Christian population and dominated trade. However, after Warsaw was connected by railway lines with various parts of Poland, the role of the city and the Vistula trade decreased significantly. In 1859, Nachum Sokolov, writer and translator, leader of the Zionist movement, pioneer of journalism in Hebrew, was born in Wyszogród.

During World War I, the buildings of Wyszogród, including the synagogue, were destroyed. However, in the interwar period, there were disputes regarding Sunday rest, when, for example, on this day the authorities forbade Jews to wash and hang out clothes to dry.

After the outbreak of World War II, Wyszogród was incorporated into Germany. In 1940, the occupation authorities created a ghetto in the area of Rębowska, Kościelna, Płocka, Ogrodowa, Krótka and Stary Rynek streets. Prisoners were forced to perform forced labor, including demolishing the synagogue. In 1941, some of the Jews were deported to the camp in Działdowo and then to Nowa Słupia near Kielce. The rest were deported to the ghettos in Czerwińsk and Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, and from there to the German Nazi extermination camp in Treblinka. After the war, the few Jews who survived the Shoah returned to the town. Most left Poland in the following years.

The new Jewish cemetery in Wyszogród is located at the corner of Niepodległości and Pokoju streets (plot no. 696/5), in the south-eastern part of the town, behind the Roman Catholic cemetery. Its boundaries are marked by an earth embankment (currently filled with earth). Its area is approx. 0.2 ha.

The Description

The cemetery was established in 1830. It was destroyed by the Germans during the occupation of World War II. The tombstones were used as paving material. A devastated area was planted with trees after 1945.

In 1989, on the initiative of Alex Gmach, a gate and a monument dedicated to the memory of the Jews from Wyszogród were built. The plaque bears an inscription in Hebrew and Polish: 'In memory of the Jews from Wyszogród murdered by the Nazis in 1939–1945. The Polish American Jewish Committee, Wyszogród 1989.' On the other side of the monument there is an inscription: 'Even the dead were not left in peace. This cemetery was desecrated by Nazi barbarians between 1939 and 1945.' There are 8 historical and modern tombstones placed around the monument. The historical ones include: matzeva of Tzvi Yosef son of Yakov (d. 24.08.1905). Coming from our times, they were exhibited on the initiative of the Brzozowski family from the United States and descendants of the Jewish community from Wyszogród. The brick gate pylons also have a modern character.

In 2019, the new Jewish cemetery in Wyszogród was marked by the National Heritage Institute as part of the 'Marking of Jewish cemeteries in the territory of the Republic of Poland' programme.

Author of the note: Magda Lucima

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