At the beginning of the 17th century, there were Poles, Ruthenians, Jews, Armenians and Turks living in the town. In the years 1618–1621, one of the Jews was the lessee of the castle mills, brewery and distillery. In 1630, there were approx. 120 Jews. In 1643, there was already a house of prayer, which was also used by Jews from nearby Oleszyce. The synagogue is mentioned in a note from 1727.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Lubaczów became an important center of Hasidism. Yisahar ben Dov Ber was considered a tzadik, followed by his son Yosef. An independent Jewish religious community was founded only before 1870; previously there was a branch of the commune from Oleszyce here. In 1880, there were 1,304 Jews living in Lubaczów.

In 1884, the Jarosław - Rawa Ruska railway line was opened, which significantly contributed to the economic development of Lubaczów. In 1899, the wooden buildings were destroyed during a major fire; the old synagogue and Jewish houses burned down. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish community in Lubaczów already had a hospital, a mikvah and a rabbi's house, as well as a new, brick synagogue, built with the financial support of the Rothschild family.

After the outbreak of World War I, Lubaczów came within the range of military operations of Russian and Austrian troops. About 500 Jews left the town then, and most of them never returned.

In the interwar period, several political parties were active in the Jewish community, including the Social Democratic Workers' Party Poale Zion, the Zionist-Orthodox Mizrachi and the youth organisation Betar. The local Hasidim were visited by tzadik Aron Rokeach from Bełz. There was a religious school for girls, Beth Yaakow, Jewish banks (Cooperative Credit Bank, Depository Fund), the 'Gemiles Chesed' loan fund and the 'Yad Charuzim' Association of Jewish Handicraftsmen. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Lubaczów was home to approx. 2,500  Jews.

In 1939, Lubaczów was temporarily occupied by the Germans, who burned both synagogues. However, soon, in accordance with the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, the city found itself in the Soviet occupation zone. The Germans reappeared after attacking the USSR in 1941. Soon, the crime of genocide was committed here, when Germans shot approximately 950 Jews at the local Jewish cemetery. They deported another part of the Jewish population to labor camps in Cieszanów, Stare Dzików, Parczew and Ostrowiec, and the remaining ones to German Nazi extermination camps in Sobibór and Bełżec.

In 1942, the occupying forces, the Germans, created a ghetto that existed for a year. In 1943, its prisoners were shot and buried in Dachnów or transported to the German Nazi extermination camp in Bełżec. Jews who managed to escape were rounded up and murdered by Ukrainian policemen. This was the ultimate fate of a group of approximately 115 people who escaped from the Lubaczów ghetto and were shot at the Jewish cemetery in Oleszyce.

The Description

The Jewish cemetery in Lubaczów was established at the beginning of the 18th century, on a hill, approx. 450 m east of the Market Square, at the current Kościuszki street, on the plot no. 3664/1. The necropolis area is surrounded on three sides by a wall from 1930, and from the east by a modern municipal cemetery network. In 1978, it occupied part of the area of the Jewish cemetery itself. The last known Judaic burial took place here in 1943.

In 1989, the cemetery was cleaned up at the initiative of the family of Rabbi Artur Hertzberg from New York. In 2003, he was supervised by young people from the local high school. The bushes were then cut down and the cemetery wall and gate were renovated. Further work was carried out, among others: in 2011, when the volunteers cut down the wild shrubs and trees. Further work was carried out in 2021. The cemetery gate and the section of the wall facing the street gained a very impressive appearance.

Nowadays, about 1,665 tombstones have been preserved at the Jewish cemetery in Lubaczów, including about 200 in good condition, in a row arrangement. The oldest one dates back to 1726. Most of the matzevas were made of limestone and sandstone, with symbols typical of the Jewish tradition. Polychrome has been preserved on a few tombstones. A plaque was placed on the site of the mass grave commemorating approximately 950 Jews shot during World War II.

Author of the note: Magda Lucima

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