Chaja Chawa
daughter of reb Mosze h'Lewi
d. Shevat 23, 5674(February 19,1914)
T.N.Z.B.A.

Rachel
daughter of reb Jakob
d. Elul 8, 5699 (August 23, 1939)
T.N.Z.B.A.

..."An honest and pious woman, modest in her deeds and dear..."
T.N.Z.B.A.

Szlomo Meir
Son of Szmuel Neta
d. Tammuz 10, 5688
(June 28, 1928)
T.N.Z.B.A.

Riwka Szpigelman
daughter of Jakob Pessach

Sara Zelda
daughter of . Yona
d.Tammuz 7, 5691
June 22, 1931

Szmuel Jakob...
d. ...5696 (~1936)

The Mayor of Losice Janusz Kobylinski and a macewa

Michael Yosef
son of Jakob
d. Shevat 22, 5648
February 4, 1888

..Here lies buried
the dear and important maiden

...A innocent man...

Golda Rywka
daughter of Israel Icchak
d. Elul 25, 5699 (September 9, 1939)

Jakob Szymon
son of Lipa
Tishrei 17, 5682 (October 19, 1921)

Szmuel Dawid
son of Cwi Jakob
? Iyar 5695
(? May 1935)

Chaja Jached...

A Message from Yitzhak Eisenberg October 1^st, 2003

Yes matzevot are matzevot and belong in a cemetery, surely. Yet with a non existing Jewish community and with no Jews at all alive in Losice...

These matzevot which have an "artistic" and a cultural heritage value as well can be exposed as a "monument" next to the cemetery or in a special area in it where they could be contemplated for their beauty and yiddishkeit and all that they symbolize.

Knowing that most Losicers are murdered in Treblinka most of them would not make a claim to find out if their matzevot (desecrated as they are anyway) are stuck unto a wall (which is also some kind of exhibition memorial) or exposed in the or next to the cemetery.

This is all I have in mind - the way to put these matzevot "en valeur" make their historical and jewish heritage qualities VISIBLE in the best and most honorable way. They are now alas more of "art history" or simply "Jewish history in Poland" than real matzevot in a living community where a cemetery functions normally as part of life.

There is no Jewish life there will never be jewish life again in Losice therefore the matzevot and not only on the grounds of the cemetery serve as a symbol, a trace, and a work of jewish art which no longer exists.

Thus to me the matzevot have an extra value now and must be treated not only as gravestones but as witnesses and works of Jewish craftsmanship.

What to do next is up to all of us........inside or outside this cemetery.

A Message from Adv. Meir G. Gover September 30^th, 2003

A gravestone was not meant to be put in no artistic shows.

A gravestone's normal place is in a graveyard. That is where it belongs. Jewish tradition prohibits any such displacement. The solution is to return the Matzevot where they belong in the first place.

See for example how nicely they renovated the Wyszkow Jewish cemetery: A long entangled wall in the center of the cemetery, where all stones found, were put back where they belong.

Who are we to start a selection among those stones??

What if later on, a relative will come to you complaining that you selected his grandfather's stone for a display in a Warsaw museum instead of putting it back where it originally was?

All stones should return to the Losice Jewish Cemetery, where they once were erected. The Jewish cemetery in Losice should be fenced again, and the cemetery was should contain all found stones with no exceptions. The cemetery will be declared, as planned, a Polish heritage monument.

Kindly go to JewishGen.org and JRI Jewish Records Indexing - Poland see how the Wyszkow Jewish Cemetery was brought back to life (so to speak), in such a manner. Anyone looking for his relatives buried in the Losice cemetery , should not need to look for their stone elsewhere.

A Message from Warren Blatt October 7^th, 2003

The photos are truly amazing. I have never seen such vibrant colors on Jewish tombstones. When I visited the site in July 1997, I turned over a few of the tombstones fragments which were face-down on the top layer of the wall, and did see some that were painted (for an example, see: http://www.jewishgen.org/wb/LosiceCem/LosiceCemCloseup3.jpg ); a few of my other 1997 photos of Losice tombstones are at: http://www.jewishgen.org/wb/LosiceCem ... but nothing as dramatic as what has now been uncovered.

The vast majority of these tombstones will NOT contain a SURNAME. As was customary, the tombstones contain only the deceased's given name(s) and patronymic (father's given name). The inclusion of a surname on a traditional Jewish tombstone was rare in Eastern Europe until the late 19th century; and even into the 20th century, many tombstones did not include the deceased's SURNAME.

Probably the best way to determine the surname of the individuals on these tombstone is to match them up with the civil death record. I have transcribed all of the existing Jewish civil records for Losice for 1814-1860, and these records are available via the JRI-Poland database (http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl ).

The records for 1861-1901 are at the Polish State Archives (PSA) branches in Lublin and Siedlce, and funds need to be raised (about $600) to create indexes to these records. The later records (1902-1938, with gaps) are at the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego (USC = Civil Vital Records) office in Losice, and are currently subject to privacy restrictions.

I would be glad to organize and lead a project to match up the tombstones with the civil death records, once the indexes of the civil death records are obtained.

A Message from Dr. David Lederman October 8^th, 2003

It would be very important and exciting to have Warren Blatt as the organizer of a project to match up the Losicde cemetery tombstones with the civil death reecords, once the indexes of the civil death records are obtained. The photos I have received are really extraordinary and have not only a sentimental significance but also a great artisitic one. I am sure that all the Losicers will agree with me and will do all that is possible to help you in this project.