Alternate names: Ożarów [Pol], Ozharov [Yid], Ozarov, Ozhorov. 50°53' N, 21°40' E, 44 miles E of Kielce, 12 miles E of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. 1900 Jewish population: 2,557. Yizkors: Memoire d'une ville juive eteinte Ozarow (Courtry, France, 1994); Ostrovtse; geheylikt dem ondenk...fun Ostrovtse, Apt... (Buenos Aires, 1949); Sefer Ostrovtsah: le-zikaron ule-'edut (Tel Aviv, [1971]); and Memories of Ozarow, a little Jewish town that was (Montreal, 1997). JOWBR burial list: Jewish Cemetery. This town in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in Opatów Powiat has 4,906 inhabitants in 2004. Its largest employer is a cement factory. Documents from 1662 reveal 57 Jews living among the 302 people in Ożarow, but the exact year of their arrival is unknown. By 1787, the Jews represented more than 70% of the total population with a kahał and synagogue, now used as a store. In 1860, Jews were 67% of the total. 1939 Jewish population was 64%. The role of the kahal was rather limited in community whose views ranged from Orthodox to communist. The 1930s brought anti-Semitism. In March 1941, the Nazis transported Jews from Vienna to Ożarów ghetto, decommissioned in 1942 when the Ozarow Jews died in Treblinka, all in a single day. [June 2009]
CEMETERY: Dating from about 1616, the cemetery wall was almost totally destroyed during WWWII by German soldiers using the gravestones for fortifications. In May 2001, Norman Weinberg organized the Ożarów Cemetery Restoration Project to renovating the cemetery. which was completed October 15, 2001. "In early May 2001, the Ozarow Cementary Restoration Project (OCRP) was formed and with the very generous help and assistance of Ozarowers and non-Ozarowers from many countries, funds have been raised for much of the restoration work and for producing a documentary film (released in 2003, entitled, "Return to Ozarow-Mending a Broken Link"). The dedication ceremony for the restored cemetery was held barely five months later in Ozarow on October 15, 2001. The ceremony was attended by more than 500 people." Source. A low, solid fence with an unlocked gate surrounds the cemetery established around 1600 and situated on the eastern outskirts of the city next to the Catholic cemetery. An obelisk commemorates Ożarow Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Many matzevot carved with rich symbolism and ornamentation survive, most in excellent condition. In 2001, a restaurant opened at the cemetery.[June 2009]
US Commission No. 000092. In Tarnobrzeg. The US Commission has not supplied this file. [2000]
2001 Restoration Project [May 2010]
I have had all of the remaining Ozarow, Poland cemetery monuments photographed and will have these translated with the information turned over to REIPP. There are about 100 stones, most in poor condition. Source: Hannah R. Weinberg; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [date?]