Alternate names: Biała Rawska [Pol], Biala Ravska [Rus], Biala Katan [Heb], Biala Poshet, Russian: Бяла-Равска. ביאלע־ראווסקע-Yiddish. 51°48' N, 20°29' E, 44 miles E of Łódź, 38 miles SW of Warszawa. 1921 Jewish population: 1,429. Yizkors: Sefer yizkor le-kedoshei Biala Rawska (Tel Aviv, 1972); Kuntres Byale-Poshet (Byale-Ravske) (, 1976); and Sefer yizkor li-kedoshe Byalah Ravskah (, 1982). Rawa County, Łódź Voivodeship with 3,233 inhabitants (2004). Town website. Jewish settlement dates from before 1710 with the first mention as blood libel. Jews formed a significant part of the local community. In the 1920s, 1,500 Jews or 60% of the town lived here and owned the majority of shops. Białorawski kahał originally had a wooden synagogue, but after a fire in 1842, built a new one. During World War II, Germany created a ghetto in the citywithin ul. Stłoczono for the Jews of Biala Rawskiej and other localities including Żyrardów and Piaseczna. The ghetto was liquidated in October 1942, a majority of its inhabitants murdered in Treblinka. [April 2009]
CEMETERY: The former synagogue devastated by the Nazis and rebuilt in the post-war years had a fire. Few traces remain of the Jewish cemetery. Two or three fragments in the cemetery located on ul. Polnej, Polna near the river was destroyed in WWII and by the communists afterward. The fragments with inscriptions, the oldest from 1791, and a complete matzevot sprayed by vandals, some concrete remains of the graves, and in several places, concave graves remain. A large part of the cemetery is overgrown with briars and thorns. The state cemetery before the war and after liberation published a Book of Remembrance Biala Rawskiej that can be seen here. [April 2009]
[March 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000214
1991 town population is 1000-5000 with no Jews.
- Town: Urzad Miejski, ulica Zjednoczenia, phone: 594 44.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, 96-100 Skierwiewice ul Pomologicrna 10.
The earliest known Jewish community is 1765. 1921 Jewish population (census) was 1429. The Jewish cemetery was established about 1800 with last known Orthodox or Conservative Jewish burial in 1939-1945. The cemetery is landmarked by Rejestr Cmentarzy Zydowskich Urzedu ds. Wyznan 1981. The isolated suburban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall, fence, or gate, but possibly a dike. The size is and was 1.35 hectares. 20 to 100 gravestones, 1 to 20 not in their original position and less than 25% broken, date from the 18th-20th centuries. The location of removed stones is unknown. The oldest known gravestone dates from 1791. The sandstone smoothed and inscribed or flat stones with carved relief decoration have Hebrew inscriptions. There are no known mass graves. Municipality owns site. The property is currently unused. Properties adjacent are agricultural and residential. Occasionally, organized tours and local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II and occasionally since. There are no structures or maintenance. Security and weather erosion are slight threats. Moderate threat: vegetation. Serious threat: vandalism. Open graves and smashed graves are visible.
Pawet Fijatkowski, 96-800, Sochacren, Ziemowita 11 visited site and completed survey on July 15, 1991. No interviews. Documents from the private collection of Pawet Fijatkowski were used to complete the survey.