Kożmin Wielkopolski

Protecting the Jewish Cemetery of Kożmin Wielkopolskie

Every year, this cemetery is visited by school groups, seniors and residents of Koźmin. They are guided by Paweł Bajerlein, who teaches about the history of the cemetery, the people buried here and the symbolism found on the tombstones.

Every year, members of the Krotochwile association, a Polish non-profit non-governmental organization, and volunteers clean the tombstones and tidy up the cemetery area. This association has been working for years to document and protect the historic cemetery of the former Prussian town of Koschmin, home to a large Jewish community for decades before the Second World War.

The cemetery was established around 1790. The volunteer group has discovered 519 burial sites, inventoried 466 tombstones, published 183 tombstones in their online directory and have identified 425 people in the list of town residents. Thanks to the support of donors to this site and to JewishGen, a detailed directory of that cemetery is now available online. 

Your support is need to help continue this volunteer work preserving a rare cemetery that largely survived the devastation of the German occupation of Poland during WWII and its aftermath. The entire area must be mowed of tall grass at least twice a year and the costs for this work need to be raised from generous donors.

This work is endorsed by the leadership of the city.