In all likelihood the beginnings of the Jewish settlement in Kołbiel date back to the closing years of the 18 th century. It is known that in 1820 the locality was inhabited by 125 Jews. The 19 th century saw rapid increase in the population of the Kołbiel Jews. In "Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich" ("The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and the Other Slavic Countries") published in 1883, the entry referring to Kołbiel runs thus: "in 1851 there were 36 houses here, 619 inhabitants (505 Jews, at present there are 50 houses, 800 inhabitants (600 Jews)". In 1909 as many as 2.077 Jews lived in the town and comprised approximately 89% of all inhabitants.

One may presume that this small shtetl was home to many followers of Hasidism. One of the traces of the Kołbiel Hasidim is the tomb of Mordechai Zev the son of Moshe Eliakim, who died in 1943. The matzevot is in Otwock and it reads that Mordechai Zev was a descendant of Yitzchak Horovitz of Lublin as well as Elimelech of Leżajsk and Magid of Kozienice, the greatest figures of Polish Hasidism.

The World War I period and the ensuing economic crisis led to a decrease in the number of Jews in Kołbiel. Many of them left the town in search of better perspectives. During the World War II, in 1941 a ghetto was established in Kołbiel. Refugees and people displaced from other localities were imprisoned there too. On September 27, 1942 all ghetto inhabitants were deported to Treblinka concentration camp.

The Jewish cemetery in Kołbiel is situated in the wood north of the town. The cemetery may be accessed from Kilińskiego Street, and then via the lane running from the west side of the wood. The older residents living nearby, report that the cemetery was "big", it survived the war and it was not until the liberation that it was devastated. Let us quote an excerpt from a letter, sent to our editorial office by one of the former inhabitants of Kolbiel: "In the summer 1944 the cemetery was most probably used by the Soviet troops. It is certain that the process of the cemetery's devastation had begun at that time. It is commonly known, that the matzevot from the cemetery were stolen by some Kolbiel inhabitants for construction works, part of the matzevot was used for the reconstruction of small bridges over the drainage ditches - one can still easily find them there".

Matzevot at the Jewish cemetery in Kołbiel (photos: K. Bielawski)

The cemetery borders are blurred. In the southern part of the necropolis one may find a matzevah which is in surprisingly good condition. Its epitaph says: "Here lies a young man, righteous, honourable and pious, who followed the paths of Torah and prayed every day in congregation, our teacher and master Yitzchak son of Avraham David ha-Levi, who died on 23 Tamuz 698 according to the abbreviated date . May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life" (translation by Anna Kulpa. 23 Tamuz (5)698 = 22nd of July 1983)

The matzevah's top bears the carving of a pitcher - a symbol placed on the tombs of the descendants of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. Just next to it, there are two fragments of other gravestones which are leaning against the trees: the first gravestone has the name of the deceased on it ("Moshe son of Gershon ha-Levi of the blessed memory of Sztejman"), the second one shows only small piece of ornamentation which comprises the stele's framing. A few dozen meters further to the north-west, on a little clearing, there are dozens of shards of a broken sandstone matzevah. We can assume with certainty that the above-mentioned gravestones had been diclocated and do not lie in their original burial ground.

Many years ago, one of the Kołbiel matzevot had been secured and preserved in the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw.

text: K. Bielawski
Translation: Dorota Lorenc

The Jewish cemetery in Kołbiel (photos: Zbigniew Niziński)

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