Monument to the Memory of Jews

On ulica Tarnowskiego in Kutno extends the grounds of a former Jewish cemetery, now overgrown with grass and lacking most of its gravestones. Standing on it is a monument in the form of a double plaque, dedicated to the memory of Kutno Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

Cemetery from centuries past

The kirkut [Jewish cemetery] on Tarnowskiego was established in the 16th century, together with the first Jewish settlement in Kutno. It was expanded twice: in 1793 to 2.8 hectares, and in 1929 to its present 3.01 hectares. The last burial took place in 1942.

Destruction of Kutno Jews

During German occupation the cemetery was devastated, and gravestones were used as building material in various parts of the city. Most Kutno Jews were sent to the extermination camp in Chelmno nad Nerem.

Plaque from 1993

On the grounds of the former cemetery stands a monument unveiled in 1993, consisting of a double plaque with inscriptions in Polish and Yiddish. It commemorates Kutno Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Earlier, in 1946, symbolic remains of victims brought from Chelmno were laid here.

The place today

The grounds remain unused as a cemetery, overgrown with grass, with preserved fragments of destroyed gravestones. Some recovered gravestone fragments have entered the collections of the museum housed in the building of Ratusz w Kutnie [Kutno Town Hall]. Care of the preserved traces of the kirkut is undertaken among others by Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Ziemi Kutnowskiej [Society of Friends of Kutno Land].

Practical information

• Address: ulica Tarnowskiego, Kutno, grounds of the former Jewish cemetery.
• Access: on foot or by bicycle from the city centre, near Willa Troczewskiego.
• What to expect: a quiet, open green area with a commemorative plaque, without a marked visiting route. On plac Piłsudskiego, several hundred metres further on, stands also a monument to Marshal Józef Piłsudski.