Żydowskie domy przedpogrzebowe w województwie śląskim
Jewish Funeral Homes in Silesian Voivodship

Summary/Abstract: Synagogues, mikvahs, Jewish cemeteries and funeral homes were once an indispensable element of the architectural landscape of multicultural towns located in what is now Śląskie (Silesian) voivodship. Regrettably, due to the tragic developments of the first half of the 20th century, World War II and the neglect of the postwar years, combined with the lack of consciousness of local communities regarding the value of historic legacy and the need to look after it in subsequent decades, a large proportion of the material heritage related to the Jewish community was irretrievably lost. Inside the current Śląskie voivodship boundaries there are sixty-four Jewish cemeteries, with funeral homes or other cemetery buildings preserved in sixteen of them. The purpose of the article is a formal and structural analysis of Jewish funeral homes in Upper Silesia in order to determine their types and assess their condition. The author identified and described the basis types of such existing facilities and the examination of their current status or condition made it possible to formulate conclusions and draw attention to the urgent need to protect them and to the possibility of using their preserved cultural potential.

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