Jewish Cemetery (Kent)

The Jewish cemetery in the city of Kent was founded in 1892, 3 kilometers from the city of Kent near the village of Vitkovice. The necropolis belonged to the Jewish ritual society Emes Anshay. Soon after the foundation, the cemetery was fenced and a ritual House of Purification (Beit Tahara) was built on its territory. The cemetery is believed to have been used by Jewish reformers. Orthodox Jews preferred to make burials near Auschwitz or Wadowice.

During World War II, the cemetery was significantly destroyed. After the war, the local Polish population continued the looting of the necropolis. In the 80s of the XX century, an American businessman Henry Kanner allocated funds to restore the cemetery. His initiative was supported by the Jewish community of Bielsko-Biala and the municipality of Kent. The overturned tombstones were restored; a monument in the form of minors was erected in the center of the cemetery.

Currently occupies an area of ​​0.13 hectares. The territory of the modern necropolis coincides with the borders of 1939. To date, the cemetery has preserved about 30 tombstones with inscriptions in Yiddish , Hebrew and German .

On January 16, 1990, the cemetery was included in the register of cultural monuments of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.

Currently, due to the threat of constant vandalism, the necropolis is closed to public visits. The key to the necropolis is located at the caretaker by phone. 601-973-193.

• Przemysław Burchard: Pamiątki i zabytki kultury żydowskiej w Polsce. Warszawa: 1990, p. 200.

• Information (Polish)