In Phase 1, a representative of the PJCRP visits Przerosl to inspect the cemetery site and to make preliminary recommendations for the restoration project. He meets with local town officials to discuss the project and to enlist the town's support. Rabbi Michael Schudrich (Chief Rabbi of Poland and PJCRP Halachic Coordinator) reviews the Phase 1 report.

During the second week of December 2003, PJCRP representative Andrzej Omasta paid his first visit to Przerosl. Unfortunately, it turned out that most of the city officials had been called away for a funeral, so Andrzej was unable to meet with them. He did, however, visit the cemetery, and he reported that it was in better condition than he expected it to be.

Andrzej returned to Przerosl the following week; this report was filed on December 16 by his associate Wojtek Brochwicz-Lewinski.

Just got a call from Andrzej, who managed to get again to Przerosl despite very heavy conditions on the road (a lot of snow and strong winds). This time Mayor Adam Kacprzyk was waiting for him, and it was possible to start direct talks on the ways to resolve the issues of the cemetery as swiftly and economically as possible. Przerosl is a very poor community, and their financial means are extremely limited.

As you can see in the photos, the foundations of the cemetery wall are clearly visible, and in some parts the remains of the wall are still about 1.5 meters high. This makes surveys practically unnecessary, and also makes getting permits for erecting the wall much easier – this case may be treated by the curators of monuments as just a repair of the wall with reconstruction of missing fragments (of course, strictly following its pre-war shape).

If this is the case, we would have significant savings on the whole project. The savings should be even greater if engineers agree to the re-use of large sections of foundations of the old wall. There should not be a problem with the cleanup of the cemetery area, and the involvement of the town was negotiated by Andrzej with the Mayor.

So it looks like this may be a very promising project.

Further news ASAP.

On December 22, Andrzej Omasta filed this report.

History of the Town

The town is located between lakes Krzywe, Koscielne, and Boczne. Przerosl was established in the first half of the 16th century. The process of localization of the city was completed with the recognition of Przerosl as a city by King Stefan Batory in Torun on November 23, 1576. The city received a seal and a crest of a lion behind a grating. The citizens were freed from any land taxes and were given a number of privileges, including three fairs a year and a market every Saturday. All the profits available to the city were from taxes collected from the merchants. Thanks to the location on the crossing of various trade routes (e.g. Grodno-Krolewiec), Przerosl was the biggest city in the region. Unfortunately, the growth of the city was halted at the start of the second half of the 17th century because of the war with Sweden and a cholera epidemic in 1657.

Wars and disasters in the second half of the 17th century decimated the population of Przerosl.

King August III restored the rights of the city on November 14, 1748, wanting the city to grow once more. The period from the 18th century until the end of the first half of the next century can be called the "golden times" of Przerosl. In 1799, the city had 246 houses (11 were official) and 1,310 citizens; it was still the largest town in Suwalszczyzna, and it was still growing. The city continued to grow until the 19th century.

After the Polish Uprising of 1863, Russian authorities, acting on Czar Alexander II's decree of June 1, 1869, terminated the civic rights of 338 cities, including Przerosl. Just before World War I, small cooperatives began to appear. There was also a local bank. After the start of World War I, marked by massive losses by the Russian army in 1914, Przerosl was occupied by Germany. After regaining its independence when German forces left Przerosl in September 1919, the local community created a city council, with a student by the name of Jozef Warkasa as its leader.

After the war, the county of Przerosl became a part of the Suwalskie district in the Bialostockie Wojwodship. In the 1920's and the 1930's, little changed in Przerosl, which slowly declined in importance. The population declined – and because of this crisis, no maintenance works in the city were carried out. Przerosl existed only because of its ancient dreams of glory.

September 1939 brought occupation of Przerosl by the Red Army and, on September 28, 1939, by the German army, which remained in Przerosl until October 1944.

After the end of the war, Przerosl, the county seat, covered an area of 6,665 hectares. It is still part of Suwalskie district and the Bialostockie Wojwodship.

Currently, the mayor is Mr. Adam Kacprzyk.


History of the Jewish Community

From the founding of the town, Jews started to come to Przerosl, but for an unknown reason they didn't settle there, instead they moved on after a while. The first traces of Jewish settlement were after the plague of 1709-10. New Jewish settlers had a serious influence on growth of the city. In 1728 there were innkeepers named Mosze Jozefowicz, Efraim Salamonowicz, Martaj Aramowicz, and Leba Jakubowicz. In 1736, Wilenskies Bishop M. Zienkiewicz allowed the Jewish community to build a synagogue and to lay out a cemetery on Zusenkowskiej Street.

In 1799, there were only 205 Jews in Przerosl. In 20 years time, there were already 443. And in 1867, they formed a large community of 598 people. This growth could not have been due only to natural growth, it must have been caused by a continuous flow of new settlers. This shows clearly the attraction of Przerosl. Jews mostly lived close to the city market, and were middle class in wealth. They were mostly craftsmen and tradesmen (e.g. clock maker Echryzel Zukowski and glazier Gotlib Ilinc). Jews owned six breweries, nine distilleries, and 16 inns. The 1820 census mentions 10 innkeepers as being among the most wealthy people in the city. The wealthiest was Nysko Abramski. During the period between the wars, Jews were tradesmen.

At the end of the 19th century and during the period between the wars, many Jews emigrated to the United States, with a few people emigrating from nearly every family. It is worth mentioning that the wooden church in Przerosl was build by Jewish carpenter Abraham Peltyn.

After September 24, 1939, when Russians occupied Przerosl, Jewish homes and shops were robbed by Russians.

September 28, 1939, brought a change of government, as the Germans took the city from the Russians. In December of 1939, the Jews of Przerosl were moved to camps in Siedlce and Lukow, where most of them died. The rest of the Jews were transferred to Treblinka and were killed there. I didn't find anyone from Przerosl who survived those camps.


History and Present State of the Cemetery

The cemetery is located on the southeastern side of the town, close to the road to Zusno. Its borders were marked by Bishop M. Zienkiewicz in 1736. It was first surrounded by a wooden fence, but in 1839 the fence was rebuilt into a stone wall. The area of the cemetery is 0.6 hectares in almost a square. There are 24 matzevot standing, most of them broken. The border of the cemetery is mostly visible, thanks to the wall which is visible on all sides of the cemetery. There is a hollow running through the whole cemetery. Matzevot are hardly readable. Most of the trees in the cemetery are self-seeded.

The wall is in bad condition and is seriously damaged, although it remains visible on the whole border of the cemetery. All of the damage to the wall is from age, I didn't find any traces of purposeful damaging or devastation.

The last burial took place in 1939, as we are informed by a sign in the cemetery.


Conclusions

The cemetery has been seriously neglected, but the authorities are very positive about the project. The new wall could be built on the old foundations and the remains of the old wall. When spring arrives in April, we should check the condition of the old wall. The conservator has no restrictions on our work. We should install a plaque with information about the cemetery and the Jewish presence in Przerosl. All the bushes and weeds will have to be removed from the cemetery (local authorities promised to take care of that).

I think that our methods of working with local communities will also work well in Przerosl. All the work appears to be quite simple and should be carried out quickly.