Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw
Indices to Surviving Gravestones

Due to the change of Director of the Warsaw Cemetery, the Cemetery search procedure is currently on hold.

For almost twenty years, Cemetery Director, Boleslaw Szenicer, has been laboriously creating a new index, section by section, grave by grave. He has continued the work started by his father, Pinkus, almost two decades earlier. To date, approximately 50,000 gravestones - of all shapes and sizes - have been indexed. Family names, given names and locations have been recorded and, in some cases, dates or years of birth and death have been included in the index. Click here for map of cemetery and description of section layout and burial policy.

Initially, time constraints made it impractical to note dates that did not contain Gregorian calendar references on the gravestones. Now with the use of a laptop, future indexing will include more vital information. It is hoped that in the future it will be possible to go back to those stones already recorded and document the Hebrew calendar date and include the equivalent Gregorian date in the database.

Because so many of the 20^th century Jewish birth, marriage and death records of Warsaw were destroyed during WW II, information from gravestones can be of great significance to genealogists researching their families from greater Warsaw.

To access this information, family members seeking to honor their ancestors or deceased relatives, or genealogists doing research have had to either visit the cemetery or write to inquire about specific family names or individuals.

Jewish Records Indexing – Poland and the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw

In October 1999, Cemetery Director, Boleslaw Szenicer and Jewish Records Indexing – Poland agreed to launch a trial project to make available Internet-searchable indices to gravestones in the cemetery. JRI-Poland is very grateful to our Warsaw resident volunteer, Kate Hibel , who has done all the data entry for the Warsaw Cemetery Project.

For those who know of family buried in the cemetery, these indices will be a welcome short cut for finding graves and obtaining further information. For others who search the JRI-Poland database on a regular basis, there may be an unexpected surprise of finding family surnames and perhaps ancestors and relatives in the Warsaw Jewish Cemetery.

One gravestone can say much. See the importance of a gravestone in rounding out one genealogist's historical picture of an ancestor.

The search process

The inital group of indices to the burials in the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw have been integrated into the JRI-Poland database.

To narrow the search, enter "Warsaw" in the "Town" field on the JRI-Poland search page. If a match in the Warsaw Cemetery database is found, it will be identified in a separate table in the search results.  The search results will link you to a form guiding you how to request information from the cemetery office and, if you desire, photographs as well.

Due to the change of Director of the Warsaw Cemetery, the Cemetery search procedure is currently on hold.

The Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw Research Service

1. Gravestone information
   a. Upon receipt of the "Request for Information" form, cemetery staff will examine previously recorded information and advise inquirers as to what may be found. If necessary, a visit to the gravesite will be made.
   b. Cemetery staff will also provide a list of all other currently indexed burials for the surname(s) listed. These will typically be gravestones not yet included in the JRI-Poland Warsaw Cemetery database.
   
   
2. Photographs
   Cemetery staff will advise if it is possible to photograph the gravestones. If a photograph is requested, every effort will be made to ensure that photographs are readable but the condition of the gravestone and the access for good photographic angles may affect the final results.

Note: Accessibility to gravesites may vary due to overgrowth, winter conditions or other circumstances.