LUBLIN - THE NEW JEWISH CEMETERY At the beginning of the 19th century due to complete fulfilling of the old Jewish cemetery in Lublin it became obvious that new necropolis need to be set up. In 1829 on the outskirts of the then city (at present at Walecznych street ) a new Jewish cemetery was established. First burials took place two years later, just after an outbreak of cholera epidemic. During the WW I Jewish soldiers of Russian, German and Austrian-Hungarian armies were buried here. Remains of rabbi Jehuda Meira Szapiro who famous religious, social and political activist, founder of world-wide known Talmud School of Lublin called Yeshivat Chachmej Lublin was laid here as well. One of his pupils Joseph Friedenson recalls his burial in an interview published in the Internet Magazine Forum: "The burial took place on the 29th October and gathered countless crowd that filled the whole Lubartowska and Unicka streets and the new Jewish cemetery. Several dozen of rabbis from the whole Europe arrived. It was written: A Jewish king died". The new Jewish cemetery is the place of eternal rest for members of local tzadik dynasty initiated by Jakub Lejba Eiger called also Jehuda Lejba from Lublin . There are graves of rabbis of Lublin , among others of Joszua Heszel Aszkenazy who had a grandson historian Szymon Aszkenazy. It is estimated that from beginning of existence till present more then 50.000 Jews were buried here. During the WW II the Nazis almost completely destroyed cemetery. Tombstones were used to reinforce road in Majdanek district. Ohels of Rabbi Szapiro and Eiger family were desecrated. After the war, in the sixties, a road crossing necropolis was marked out. During the Holocaust Sara Bass-Frenkel was hiding at the cemetery for some time. At the beginning of the nineties the cemetery was restored thanks to the initiative of Sara and Manfred Frankel Foundation. The necropolis was surrounded with concrete slabs in the shape of matzeva separated with stylized menorahs. By the entrance mausoleum commemorating victims of Holocaust was built. Inside the Memory Chamber of Jews from Lublin and a small synagogue were installed. The area of cemetery is divided into three parts. The first one is a field with the above mentioned mausoleum and a house of caretaker. On internal sides of enclosure there are recently placed epitaph plaques. A path behind the Memory Chamber leads to the second part of the cemetery. Just behind the wall there are few still preserved gravestones. A piece of brick wall is a monument installed in 1990 over a mass grave of 190 Jews killed during the extermination of ghetto in Majdan Tatarski. A little bit further there is a soaring obelisk with a menorah engraved on it - it is unveiled in 1947 monument commemorating victims of Holocaust. Next to it there are plaques commemorating Jewish soldiers of the Home Army, Jews who fought during the September '39 campaign and prisoners from a camp in Lipowa street . Close to them there is also a monument of Jewish victims of Nazism installed in 1987. The central part of the square contains after-war graves of Jews from Lublin . Behind them there is a modest building of an ohel of Jehuda Meir Szapiro. Inside numerous candles and stones brought by pilgrims still can be found although in 1958 his remains were exhumed and moved to Israel . The third part so called occupied part of beit-olam in Lublin is separated with Andersa street . During the WW II Jews who died or were killed in ghetto were buried here. This place is a witness to many executions. Also here after the war a monument commemorating victims of Holocaust was installed.
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