Jewish Cemetery, Warsaw

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jewish Cemetery, Warsaw" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Warsaw Jewish Cemetery
Graves at Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery
Details
Established	1806
Location	Warsaw,  Poland
Coordinates	52°14′51″N 20°58′29″E / 52.24750°N 20.97472°E / 52.24750; 20.97472
Type	Jewish cemetery
Size	33 ha
No. of graves	200,000-300,000[1]

The Warsaw Jewish Cemetery is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe and in the world. Located on Warsaw's Okopowa Street and abutting the Christian Powązki Cemetery, the Jewish necropolis was established in 1806 and occupies 33 hectares (83 acres) of land. The cemetery contains over 250,000 marked graves,^[1] as well as mass graves of victims of the Warsaw Ghetto. Although the cemetery was closed down during World War II, after the war it was reopened and a small portion of it remains active, serving Warsaw's existing Jewish population.

As the necropolis was established to replace many smaller cemeteries closer to the city centre, it was designed to serve all Jewish communities of Warsaw, regardless of their affiliation. Hence, it is subdivided into several districts dubbed quarters (kwatery), historically reserved for various groups. Among them are three Orthodox (for men, women and one for holy scriptures), Reform Judaism, children, military and Warsaw Ghetto Uprising victims.

The cemetery, which has become a dense forest in the post-war period, is filled with monuments dedicated to notable personas such as politicians, spiritual leaders, inventors, economists and others. Many of the markers are simple, others are elaborately carved and richly decorated. Large mausoleums appear in styles ranging from Egyptian revival to Art Deco.