The Jewish Community of Malbork

Elbląg

In German: Elbing

A city and the capital of Elbląg County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. Between 1772 and 1945 Elbląg was part of eastern Prussia.

 

21^ST CENTURY

In 2001 a memorial stone was placed in the park where the Jewish cemetery was once located. Some tombstone fragments from the cemetery are located in the warehouse of the Elbląg Forestry.

 

HISTORY

Records describe Jews in Elbląg as having been burned in the wake of the Black Death, indicated that they were living in the town during the first half of the 14^th century. By the time of the First Partition of Poland in 1772 there were no Jews living in Elbląg. It was only in 1783 that Moses Simon was granted permission to live in the city, and to provide services to visiting Jewish merchants.

By 1812 there were 33 Jewish families living in Elbląg; in 1816 there were 42. In response to the burgeoning community, a number of institutions were established. A cemetery was consecrated in 1811, an elementary school opened in 1823, and a synagogue and mikveh were built in 1824. The community hired its first rabbi in 1879.

Some of Elbląg’s Jews became remarkably successful. One of the largest companies in East Prussia, Loeser & Wolff, was established in 1874 by a Jew from Elbląg; by 1926 it employed approximately 4,000 workers.

In 1932 there were 460 Jews living in Elbląg. Community institutions included three charitable and five welfare organizations. There was also a Jewish school that enrolled 60 children.

After the Nazis came to power in 1933 the local Jewish population decreased substantially as Jews began emigrating. In 1936 there were 207 Jews living in Elbląg. Only 53 remained in May 1939.

 

THE HOLOCAUST

On November 10, 1938, the night of the Night Pogrom, the Nazis burned down the synagogue and looted Jewish-owned shops.

 

POSTWAR

The Jewish community of Elbląg was not renewed after the war. Community archives dating from 1811 until 1936 were stored in the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem.

Prabuty 

In German: Riesenburg 

A town in Kwidzyn County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. Until 1945 it was part of East Prussia, Germany.

First Jewish presence: in or around the year 1700; peak Jewish population: 148 in 1895; Jewish population in 1933: unknown (70 in 1925)

Not much is known about the history of the Jewish community of Riesenburg (present-day Prabuty, Poland). Individual Jews lived in Riesenburg in the early 1700s, but it was not until the early 1800s that a Jewish community was established there. Local Jews consecrated a cemetery and established a synagogue, the latter of which was of neo-Gothic design, in 1812 and 1855, respectively. The cemetery was in use until 1930. Jews began to flee Riesenburg soon after the Nazis rose to power, so that by 1937 only 65 Jews lived in the town. On Pogrom Night (Nov. 9, 1938), Nazis stormed the synagogue and burned it down. The Jewish cemetery was destroyed during the war, and is now a garage. One can find fragments of gravestones bearing Hebrew and German inscriptions scattered among the trees and the grass of the cemetery site. As of this writing, the town has never erected a memorial.

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This entry was originally published on Beit Ashkenaz - Destroyed German Synagogues and Communities website and contributed to the Database of the Museum of the Jewish People courtesy of Beit Ashkenaz.

Gdansk

German: Danzig (the two names are often used interchangeably)

A major port city on the Baltic coast of Poland.

HISTORY

Gdansk is situated at the mouth of the Motlawa River, connected to the Leniwka, which is a branch in the delta of the Vistula River on the Baltic Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in Poland and an important industrial center. The city was originally part of the Piast state, but in 1308 it was conquered by the State of the Teutonic Order, which issued an edict of non-toleration prohibiting Jews from settling or remaining there. Under pressure from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Witold, this restriction was eased during the first half of the 15th century, and a limited number of Jewish merchants from Lithuania and Volhynia were permitted to enter the city. As of 1440, there was a "Judengasse," ("Jewish Lane" or "Jewish Quarter") on the banks of the Motawa River.

After the Thirteen Years' War (1454-1466), Danzig was once again incorporated under Polish rule and it became Poland's wealthiest city and the central hub for trade in grain and other goods between Western and Eastern Europe. Jewish merchants from Poland and Lithuania came to Danzig to trade, and many were granted special privileges from the King of Poland; indeed, in 1476 the city council, on the encouragement of the king, allowed two Jewish merchants equal rights with other merchants. Nonetheless, because Danzig enjoyed a status of semi-autonomy, the city continued to refuse citizenship and trading rights to Jews, even though Jews had earned greater rights in the greater kingdom.

Jewish settlement of the city began after 1454, but opposition from Christian merchants forced the Jews to move in 1520 to the Schottland suburb, which was outside of the city's jurisdiction. After the intervention of King Sigismund in 1531, the city council withdrew the regulation prohibiting Jews from trading at the fair, but a resolution of the Sejmik (small parliament) of Prussia prohibited any further rights to be extended to the Jews. In retaliation, the Jews of Lithuania boycotted the Gdansk banking house in Kaunas (Kovno), which then had to be shut down, and ousted the merchants of Gdansk from the Lithuanian salt trade.

In 1577, after a rebellion in Gdansk against King Sephen Bathory, an agreement was reached between the city and the king that imposed further restrictions on the Jews in Gdansk. Jews were not allowed to hold religious services in Gdansk, nor were they allowed to live or stay in the city; later, in 1595, the city council allowed Jews to stay in the city during fair days only.

Around 1616, approximately 400 to 500 Jews were living in Gdansk, in addition to those settled in lands owned by the gentry or clergy. In 1620, the king finally permitted Jews to reside in Gdansk. He also allowed Jews to trade in grain and timber in the commercial sector and in Langengarten, which belonged to the port area. After these areas were incorporated into Gdansk in 1626, these rights were extended to the entire city.

The Polish-Swedish wars of the 17th century interrupted the trading activities of the Gdansk Jews and led to a general decline of the city, and of the Polish state. This led to an increased intolerance of the Jews, particularly those who were in competition with local artisans and merchants. Local ordinances increased restrictions on Jews, and levied special fees on any Jew who wished to stay in the city. Around the same time, during the mid-17th century, about 50 Jews became apostates and converted to Christianity; among them was Johann Salama, a teacher in the Gdansk seminary who subsequently proselytized to his former coreligionists.
During the 18th century, the main opposition to the Jews in Gdansk came from small traders and craftsmen. The Third Northern War, which strengthened the position of Catholicism in Gdansk, increased hostility towards the Jews, and they were forced to leave certain areas. However, a Chevra Kadisha and Bikkur Cholim were nonetheless founded in 1724 in the suburbs, in the old Jewish quarter in Schottland (Stary Schottland). In 1748 the Jews who had previously been expelled returned to Gdansk, though a regulation endorsed by the king in 1750 stated that they could return only temporarily. By 1765 there were about 1,098 Jews living in Gdansk and in the areas outside of the city proper; 504 were living in Schottland and Hoppenbruch, 230 in Langfuhr, and 364 in Weinberg.

The First partition of Poland in 1772 resulted in the city of Danzig remaining part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (ultimately until 1793), while the city's suburbs became Prussian. In 1773, 240 Jewish families (approximately 1,257 people) were granted legal status and became full Prussian citizens. This proved to be the start of a strong connection between the Jewish community of Danzig and Germany, which proved to last until the community was destroyed during the Nazi era.

The emancipation edict of 1812 further improved the legal status of Jews in Prussia, though there were still outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence against the Jewish community. Most infamous among these events were the Hep! Hep! Riots of September 1819 and August 1821, which saw outbreaks of violent anti-Semitism.

During the 1820s, 33 Jews were accepted into the merchants' guild, but by then the city had declined in importance. Jews were allowed to engage in crafts, and in 1823 a society was founded to promote crafts among the Jewish population.
A number of important Jewish publications were printed in Danzig during the 19th century (though it is important to note that some Hebrew printing was done in Gdansk during the 16th century in connection with Phillip Wolff's "Spiegel der Juden"). In 1843, the printing house of Rathke and Schroth published the Mishna with the commentary "Tif'eret Yisrael" by Rabbi Israel Lipschuetz, who was then the rabbi of Danzig. Also published were the works of Tzvi Hirsch Edelmann, including an edition of his Passover Haggadah, "Leil Shimmurim."

Another notable figure in Danzig was Rabbi Abraham Stein, a Reform rabbi who was the rabbi of Schottland from 1850 until 1864, after which he became a rabbi in the Mausel Synagogue of Prague.

The communities of Altschottland, Weinberg, Langfuhr, Danzig-Breitgasse, and Danzig-Mattenbuden were still independent by the end of the 19th century, each building their own synagogues and institutions, and electing their own officers. In 1878, the Altschottland began to initate a move towards unifying the Jews of Danzig. These efforts came to fruition in 1883, with the election of a unified Kehilla board (an elected Jewish communal governing body). The board worked to open the Great Synagogue, a unified synagogue, in 1887. At this time, most Danzig Jews embraced German nationalism and what they saw as its universalism and humanitarianism, while rejecting the political Zionism that saw Jews as a nation. During this period, Danzig Jews defined themselves as "Germans of the Mosaic persuasion."
The community of Gdansk had four synagogues, and a variety of other Jewish organizations. The "Jung-Juedischer Bund Danzig" ("Young Jewish Association of Danzig") was founded in 1920. A community newspaper, "Juedisches Wochenblatt," was published 1929-1938.

The Jewish population numbered 3,798 in 1816, 2,736 in 1880, 2,390 in 1910, and 4,678 in 1924. In 1920, when Gdansk was again declared a free city, its total population was approximately 356,000. Of the total population, there were 7,292 Jews living in the territory of the free city in 1923, and 9,230 in 1924, of whom 53.4% lived in Gdansk itself. Visitors came to the nearby town of Sopot, a popular summer and sea resort between the two World Wars for many Polish Jews. Danzig also attracted a number of Jewish emigrants from Soviet Russia. Additionally, a large number of Jewish emigrants passed through the port on their way to the United States, and received assistance from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).

Despite large Nazi gains in the elections of 1933 and 1935, civil and economic order was upheld by the president of the Senate, Hermann Rauschning, until 1937 when the rights of minorities provided for under the League of Nations lapsed. Albert Forster, the Nazi Gauleiter (leader of the regional branch of the Nazi party), incited a pogrom in October 1937 in which Jewish shops and homes were damaged. The Polish government offered the Jews no protection, and half of the Jews left Gdansk within the year.
The pogrom of Kristallnacht, which took place in Gdansk in December 1938, saw the windows of synagogues shattered, the houses and shops of Jews looted, and scores of Jews beaten and injured. Additionally, Forster began initiating repressive policies against the Jews, and the Nuremberg laws were introduced. In the aftermath, the Jewish community began to organize its emigration. By September 1939, only 1,200 Jews remained, many of whom were elderly. 395 Jews were deported during February and March 1941 to Warsaw, while the rest were sent in small groups to concentration camps. 22 Jewish partners in mixed marriages who remained in Gdansk survived the war.

After the city reverted to Polish control in 1945, a number of Jews resettled there. Few remained by the end of the 1960s.

Kwidzyn 

In German: Marienwerder

A town and capital of Kwidzyn County in אhe Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. Until 1945 it was part of Germany.

First Jewish presence: 1789 (one family); peak Jewish population: 290 in 1890; Jewish population in 1933: 186

A Jewish banker, Leib Jacob Lewin, moved to Marienwerder (present-day Kwidzyn, Poland) in 1790. More Jews settled there during the ensuing decades, but they were forced to pay exorbitant taxes, protection money and, after each wedding or birth, to make special donations to the royal coffer. It was not until 1815 that the town authorities permitted the Jewish community to consecrate a cemetery. The Jewish population peaked in the second half of the 19th century. Most Marienwerder Jews were merchants, but several large stores and prominent businesses were owned by Jews. Services were conducted in a small prayer hall until 1832, when the community—Jews living in the surrounding villages were members—inaugurated a new synagogue. A century later, a larger synagogue was built in Marienwerder. During the years 1845 to 1850, Dr. Heimann Jolovicz, the local rabbi, attempted unsuccessfully to introduce the congregation to the Reform liturgy. Many Marienwerder Jews either left for larger cities or emigrated from Germany during the 1920s and 1930s. On Pogrom Night (nov. 9, 1938), SA men burned down the synagogue and destroyed the Jewish cemetery. Members of at least 25 local Jewish families perished in the Shoah.

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This entry was originally published on Beit Ashkenaz - Destroyed German Synagogues and Communities website and contributed to the Database of the Museum of the Jewish People courtesy of Beit Ashkenaz.

Sztum

In German: Stuhm

A town in the Powisle region in the Pomeranian Volvodeship, Poland.

The place was first mentioned in 1236 as a Prussian settlement. In 1333, the knights of the Teutonic Order built a fortress there on an island surrounded by a fortified wall.

The settlement that grew around the fortress received city rights in 1416 from the head of the Crusader order, Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg. Following the wars of the Kingdom of Poland against the Teutonic order (1454-1466), the Polish army captured the fortified city.

Sztum was part of the kingdom of Poland until the first division of Poland in 1772. The city primarily supported itself through agriculture and beer breweries.

The wars for control of the Baltic Sea ports between the Poles and the Swedes in the 17th century, caused Sztum tremendous material and financial damage. On June 25, 1629, after he was defeated by the Poles, the king of Sweden, Gustav Adolf, found refuge in the fort of Sztum. In 1683, a fire devastated the city's buildings and, in 1709, a plague added to the city's disasters.

After the first division of Poland in 1772, Sztum was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia. Under Prussian rule, the city flourished and in a short time the population doubled. The building of the Torun-Malbork railroad in 1882 contributed greatly to the city's development. Towards the end of the 19th century, a number of plants operated in the city:  a dairy, a slaughterhouse, and a sawmill. In 1912, infrastructure work was done for electricity and water.

At the end of WWI (1914-1918), Poland demanded the return of the lands that had been taken from her by the neighboring empires. In a referendum held in 1920 about the future of the territories that Poland demanded from Germany, in spite of the large minority of Poles, most of the population preferred to stay within the territory of Germany.

On January 21, 1945, at night, the German population ran out of the city. The next day the Soviet Army captured Sztum. The Germans left in the city were expelled to Germany. In place of the Germans, the city was settled by Poles who were evicted from the territory of eastern Poland. Sztum returned to being a city in independent Poland.

 

The Jews in Sztum

The Jews started settling in Sztum at the beginning of the 18th century. The cemetery was built after 1750. In 1788, the Jew Yaacov Levin was mentioned in the city records.

In 1812, twenty Jews were registered as homeowners. In 1820, the Jewish community owned a prayer house. In 1831, the Jews numbered 98 people and constituted 10% of the town's total population. In 1862, the Sztum synagogue was built. The children learned in the municipal school.

In 1871, there were 106 Jews in the city. That is the largest number of Jews who lived in the city. After that, their numbers dwindled. Because of the worsening of their economic conditions, a number of Jews immigrated to the United States. The rise in anti-Semitism and the rise of the Nazis to power strengthened their will to leave. In 1925, seventy Jews lived in Sztum. In 1932, there were 45 members of the Jewish community (0.9% of the population), 18 of whom paid membership fees. The Jewish Association of Women, headed by Clara Philip, was active in the city to help the needy.

The community of Sztum included Ryzewo / Rehhof with 11 Jews,  Altmark / Stary Targ with 6 Jews, and Pestlin-Postolin with 3 Jews. Max Rosenthal, Krause, and Philipp served on the community’s board. Max Gruschka from Malbork was the children's teacher. Five children studied religion. The community owned a synagogue, a cemetery, and a kosher butcher shop.

During the Pogrom Night (November 9, 1938), the Nazis burned the synagogue in Sztum and desecrated the cemetery. At the beginning of 1939, there were 13 Jews in Sztum; during that year the number was reduced to 3 and they also left.

 

After the Holocaust

The ruins of the synagogue in Sztum, burned on the Pogrom Night, were cleared after the war and in its place a residential building was built. The gravestones from the destroyed cemetery were stolen by the local population and were used to strengthen building foundations. Fragments of these stones, found over time, with Hebrew and German inscriptions on them, were given to the local museum.

In the museum in the Christian Cultural Center (ALYEM), located in a building once used as an Evangelical church, there is a permanent exhibit called The History of Sztum. Among the objects on view are some Judaica: items from Adolph Cohen's pharmacy, a rabbi's booklet, a Chanukah spinning top (dreidel), items from Herman Holtz's shop, hangers from the stores of the Jews, Rosenthal, Neff and Eisenstadt, a map of the city noting the synagogue, a cup with a Star of David, and, also, parts of gravestones from the local cemetery.

A School for Dialogue, initiated by the Dialogue Forum Fund, was organized in Sztum to create a study program for elementary and high school students. This program was intended to teach the history of the Jews of Poland and their contribution to Polish society, economy and culture, so that the students could then pass on this knowledge to the local population.

In August, 2019, the city administration ordered the cemetery area to be cleared of weeds; fragments of the graves and stones were collected together in one place. On the site a granite stone was put up and upon it were written these words in Polish: “Resting place for the Jews who once lived here...May they rest in peace.”

Gniew

In German: Mewe

A town in the Tczew District in Pomerania Voivodeship, Poland.

In the year 1276, the settlement, located on the "Amber Way", a mercantile route, is mentioned as a place controlled by the Order of the Teutonic Knights. They built a fortress there, and in 1297 Gniew received city rights according to the Chelmno Laws. In 1308, the knights ruled over the area. In 1464, the town returned to the control of the Polish kings. 

In 1667, John Sobieski, the ruler of Gniew, and later the King of Poland, best remembered for his victory over the Ottoman Empire's army who were besieging Vienna, built Palace Marysienki as a gift to his wife, Marie Casimire. 

The city suffered from continued financial crises. After the first division of Poland in 1772, Gniew was annexed to Prussia. The city had only 850 residents. In order to revive the city's economy, Prussia encouraged Germans to settle in the city. Gniew remained under Prussian control, and later of the German Empire until the end of World War I (1914-1918), when about half the residents were Germans. In 1920, Gniew was included within the borders of the independent Poland.

The Jews of Gniew

Jews settled in villages around Gniew only after the annexation of the area to Prussia in 1772. In 1812, Jews were permitted to settle in Gniew. The Jews made a living as grain merchants, retailers, and skilled craftsmen. In 1816, the community numbered 192 people, which included Jews living in nearby villages. After a short time, Jews owned a building for community offices, which also included a synagogue. A short distance from the building, by the bank of the Vistula River, was the community's mikveh. During this same time, the community established a cemetery. In 1820, there were 143 Jews in the city, representing 7.6% of the population. In 1831, there were 164 Jews in the city, and in 1868, the number of Jews reached its maximum, at 279 people. After this high point, because of economic deterioration of the city and the emigration of Jews to large cities in Germany and to the United States, the community began to shrink. Just before World War I (1914-1918), there were 98 Jews living in Gniew.

Despite the reduction in size of the Jewish community, there were active in the city institutions and in the health and social assistance systems, which were divided into Catholic, Protestant and Jewish sections. The chairman of the Jewish community was appointed to head the Jewish section. Members of the Loewenstain family, who were merchants and were the owners of factories, were considered the wealthiest family in the city. Until the 1920s, they maintained the Herman and Bertha Loewenstain Charity Fund.

After Gniew returned to Polish sovereignty, the Jews who saw themselves as Germans of the Mosaic Faith and saw their culture as German, emigrated to Germany. In the population census of 1921, there were just five Jews listed in Gniew. A number of Jews joined the community from other areas of Poland so that in 1931 there were nine Jews living in the city. They received religious services from the community of Starogard Gdanski. In 1939, there were two or three Jews in Gniew.

The Holocaust

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Gniew was captured immediately on the same day. The two or three Jews there were murdered within a short time. The Germans destroyed the synagogue down to its foundation. The cemetery was destroyed, and the headstones stolen.

Gniew was annexed to the Third Reich. The city's fortress was used by the Germans as a concentration camp for the Polish population from the Pomerania region, until they were expelled to the Generalgouvernement area of occupied Poland.

After the Holocaust

Gniew was liberated by the Red Army on March 7, 1945. The German population was expelled to Germany. Today, there are no Jews in Gniew. The area of the cemetery is covered by wild vegetation, and there are no traces of any headstones.

Nowe nad Wisla

In German: Neuenburg

A town in the Swiece county in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland,

The settlement was documented for the first time in 1185. In 1308, the area was controlled by the Order of the Teutonic Knights. In 1350, they built a fortress there, and next to it a town that received city rights according to the Chelmno Laws. Its location next to the Vistula River contributed to its economic prosperity. In 1466, the residents of the city proclaimed their loyalty to the kings of Poland. The city was destroyed during the Swedish invasion of Poland in 1655, and was not successfully restored until the second half of the 18th century. After the first division of Poland in 1772, Nowe was annexed to Prussia. The city remained under Prussian control and then of the German Empire until the end of World War I (1914 - 1918). Prussia encouraged Germans to settle in the newly annexed areas. The new settlers, and the commerce conducted with European markets brought about the economic revival of the city.

In 1920, Nowe nad Wisla was included within the borders of the independent Poland.

The Jews of Nowe nad Wisla

Jews began to settle in Nowe nad Wisla in the second half of the 18th century, after the annexation of the city to Prussia. At first, they settled in one of the villages around the city, which after some time was annexed to the city, and was known as "the new fifth quarter". The Jews were merchants in the grain, lumber, and leather industries, and a few were skilled craftsmen. In the beginning of the 19th century, the community solidified,

including only the Jews living in the city. In 1830, a cemetery was established, and in 1847 a synagogue was built. In 1868, there were 470 Jews in the city, constituting 10.2% of the population. After that year, the number of Jewish residents started to decline. The Jews considered themselves Germans of Mosaic Faith, speaking German among themselves. Toward the end of the 19th century, emigration to large German cities and to America increased. In 1885, the community had 213 members (5.7%), and in 1910 the number decreased further to 141, which was 2.7% of the general population.

In 1920, with the return of Nowe nad Wisla to the borders of independent Poland, most of the Jews left for Germany.

In the population census of 1921, 31 Jews were listed in the city, representing 0.8% of the residents. Beginning in 1925, Jews from other regions in Poland settled in the city. The community grew to 67 Jews in 1927, and to 84 in 1937. The "veteran" Jews were mostly merchants, managing the stores in the city, while the "new" Jews were peddlers. The relationships between the new Jewish settlers, who were traditional, and the veteran community, who were more modern, were tense. Each group sent many letters to the authorities, complaining about the other group. The new Jews wrote about the hanging of a picture of the German Kaiser in the synagogue, and the performance of certain community protocols in German. The complaints turned out to be untrue. On the wall of the synagogue was a picture of Jews praying, and in the background was a scene from the Prussian-French war of 1870-1871, and the books in the synagogue used the Polish language. German was only the spoken language of the veteran Jews. In 1932, the Polish authorities abolished the community offices of Nowe nad Wisla, and annexed the Jews and their property, including the synagogue and the cemetery and any movable property to the community of Swiecie.

In 1938, because of their heavy debts, the community stopped paying the mohel, Moshe Roterman. At the same time, Rabbi A. Bromberg served as the place's rabbi, having come from Grudziac. The disputes continued until the end of the community in 1939.

The Holocaust

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The Germans captured Nowe nad Wisla in the first few days of September, 1939. Some of the Jews fled before the Germans entered the city. The Jews that remained were taken and held in the local jail. The Germans killed all of them in death pits in the forest of Mnizka.

After the Holocaust

The city of Nowe nad Wisla was liberated by the Red Army in January, 1945. Today, there are no Jews there.

The Germans destroyed the cemetery in 1940, using the headstones as construction material. Today, in the cemetery, remnants of the bases of the graves are all that can be found. The funeral home is used as a residence. The lower area is used for agricultural purposes, and the hill is covered with wild vegetation. There are only two headstones remaining from the cemetery, kept in a museum.

Starogard Gdanski

In German: PreuBisch Stargard

A city in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland.

In 1198, the duke of Pomerania awarded the settlement of Starigrod to the Knights Hospitaller. In 1305, the Teutonic Order controlled the location. In 1309, the place received the right "to not tolerate Jews" (de non tolerandis Judaeis). The knights fortified the place, and in 1348 the settlement received rights as a city and its present name - Starogard Gdanski (Gdanski Starogard).

In 1466, the city proclaimed its loyalty to the kings of Poland. The settlement was located on the trade route from Tczew to Gdansk, and was known for its water mills and for raising pedigree horses. The city was destroyed a number of times: in 1484, a fire consumed most of its homes, in 1520, the knights of the Teutonic Order conquered the city and destroyed it, in 1655 the Swedes captured the city and also destroyed it. After the first division of Poland in 1772, Starogard Gdanski was annexed to Prussia. The city was under the control of Prussia, and later the German Empire, until the end of World War I (1914 - 1918). After the war, and with the establishment of an independent Poland, and following a referendum in January, 1920, Starogard Gdanski was included within the borders of Poland.

The Jews of Starogard Gdanski

After the destruction caused by the Swedish invasion (1655-1660), Jews began to settle in the villages surrounding Starogard Gdanski, among them Klonowka, Kocborowo, and in noble estates, such as Hermanowo. In the city itself, Jews began to settle only after the annexation to Prussia in 1772. According to the population census conducted in the area by the Prussians, there were 1,772 Jews. They were grain merchants, retailers, and skilled craftsmen. In 1815, the merchant Abraham Peter Kaufman acquired a house for the Jews of the city in which they established a synagogue, as well as an office for the community council. In 1816, there were approximately 450 Jews living in the city. During the years 1849-1850, a new synagogue was built in place of the old one. An apartment for the community rabbi, a mikveh, and a Jewish elementary school were built next to the synagogue, financed with government funds. Some of the children continued their education at the local gymnasium. Jews were attracted to the city because of the development of manufacturing and the improved economic situation. Two wealthy Jewish families especially contributed to the development of the area: the Kaufman family, who owned a shoe factory, and the Goldfarb family, who owned a tobacco operation and a beer brewery. The Goldfarb family built a neighborhood of residences next to the factory it owned for workers in its company, and they also helped the poor in the city. In 1871, the community of Starogard Gdanski, including its surrounding villages, counted 1,500 Jews, among whom 802 lived in the city itself, representing 14% of the residents. In the village of Skorcze, there were 39 Jews; in the village of Osieki, there were 16 Jews; in the village of Lubichowo, there were 15 Jews. In 1885, the number of Jews in Starogard Gdanski decreased because of emigration to other German cities or to America, and stood at 529 people, constituting 8% of the city's residents. Shortly before World War I, in 1910, there were 275 Jews living in the city. After Starogard Gdanski returned to Polish sovereignty, the population census of 1921, recorded 125 Jews residing in the place, constituting only 1% of the general population. Until the start of the 1920s, there was still a rabbi there who served also as the rabbi of the Gniew community. After that time, the function was filled by the cantor, who was also the mohel and religious teacher.

After Starogard Gdanski was included within the borders of Poland, most of the local Jews, especially the intellectuals who felt "Germans of the Mosaic religion", left for Germany. In their place, Jews from other areas of Poland joined the community. In 1923, the community considered selling the synagogue as a church for the local military guard.

In 1927, because of the decrease in Jewish population in Pomerania, the Polish government decided to reduce the number of permitted Jewish communities from 27 to 8. After the protest of the Jews in Starogard Gdanski, who proved that in contrast to Jews of other communities they spoke Polish and not German, the additional community was established, the ninth, of the Jews of Starogard Gdanski. The community of Starogard Gdanski included the Jews of Tczew, Skarszewy, and Gniew. The community managed the synagogues of the cities, the mikveh, the elementary school, and four homes. Besides the factories of the Kaufman and Goldfarb families, Jews owned two sawmills, one of which was turned into a glass cutting factory. Most of the Jews were merchants, with a few skilled craftsmen.

There were cultural and political activities in the city. There were branches of Zionist movements, among them general Zionists, the Revisionists, and the youth movement Betar. There were also women's groups active in the city.

In 1929, there were 34 local Jews in Starogard Gdanski, and 42 Jews who had joined the community after the city had returned to Polish sovereignty. Together, they constituted 0.2% of the general population. In 1936, Moshe Zuberman from Międzyrzecza Podlaskiego was appointed rabbi for the community.  

In the later 1930s, the economic crisis caused increased anti-Semitism in the Christian population. In 1936 and 1937 there were attacks against Jews, including smashing display windows in Jewish-owned stores, painting hateful graffiti on Jewish homes, and calls for boycotts of Jewish businesses.

At the start of 1939, there were 143 Jews living in the city. About one third of them managed to leave the city before September, 1939.

The Holocaust

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Starogard Gdanski was captured on the same day. The Germans immediately began to brutalize the Jewish population. Beginning in the middle of September, 1939, they imprisoned Jews and conducted mass executions, along with public humiliations. By the end of September, nearly all the Jews of the Starogard Gdanski district had been murdered by mass executions or had been sent to concentration camps.

The area had been annexed to the Third Reich. Within a year, the Germans had put an end to the existence of all Jewish communities in eastern Prussia and Pomerania. The city's synagogue had been defiled and plundered, and afterward turned into a commercial hall with stalls for businesses. The cemetery was destroyed, with gravestones taken and used for paving sidewalks. In September, 1939, in the area of the cemetery, the Germans took 40 Jews to be murdered with 250 Poles. On October 27, Joseph Sagaj was removed from a prison cell and murdered in the cemetery. Round ups of Jews for murder also took place next to the synagogue. In the area of the Szpegawski Las forest, the Germans killed about 7,000 people, among them Jews and those sheltered at a psychiatric hospital in Kocborow.

Among those murdered were Jan Peter Kaufman, the last descendant of his family, his wife Magda, and the lawyer L. Halperin, who had been the Vice President of the county court house. Jews of the counties and villages near Starogard Gdanski were murdered in the Zajaczek forest, by the village of Skorcz. Subsequently, the Germans established a camp affiliated with the Stutthof concentration camp.

After the Holocaust

On March 6, 1945, the Red Army liberated Starogard Gdanski. The Jews did not return to the city. The synagogue, which had been turned into a shopping center, was returned to the control of the Jewish community in Gdansk in 1998. 

The cemetery was destroyed by the Germans. Even after the war, the local population continued to rob the gravestones. A brick boundary had been put up after the war, but it was partially destroyed and replaced with a mesh fence. In 2011, part of the cemetery area was annexed by the local church. Twenty to thirty gravestones remained in various states of ruin. The area was neglected, and became overgrown with wild shrubbery. The Memory in Stone Project made its goal to document all of the gravestones in the area and in different museums.

 

Tczew

In German: Dirschau

A city in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland.

Tczew is one of the older cities in Pomerania, located at at a crossroads of trade routes between Torun and Gdansk, and between Berlin and Koenigsberg (today Kaliningrad). In 1198, the town was awarded to the Knights Hospitaller. From 1252, it served as a fortified capital of the area, before it was awarded city rights. In 1260, the rights according to the Lubeck Laws were awarded to Tczew by Sambor II, Duke of Pomerania and Prince of Lubiszewo Tczewskie.

The city developed thanks to trade in grain and amber. The city collected taxes from merchants who floated their products on the Vistula River and minted its own currency. In 1308, the Knights of the Teutonic Order captured the city, burned it down, and expelled its residents. Later, the Teutonic Knights built a fortress on the site, and, in 1364, they awarded city rights to Tczew, according to the Chelmno Laws. In 1410, after the Battle of Grunwald between the Teutonic Order and the Poles, the city passed to the control of Poland for a period of time, but returned to the hands of the knights.

In 1466, the city announced its loyalty to the kings of Poland. In 1577, because of the carelessness of a soldier, the city was burned to its foundation, except for the stone churches. The city did not recover from its destruction until 1632. The invasion of the Swedes (1655 - 1660) and the continuous wars that ensued, once again destroyed the city. In 1772, after the first division of Poland, Tczew was annexed to Prussia. For a short time (1807-1812), the city was controlled by Napoleon, who even visited it a number of times. In 1812, Tczew returned to the borders of Prussia and later to the German Empire, which controlled it until the end of World War I (1914-1918). After 1852, the city served as a railway junction to Gdansk. In 1857, a railroad bridge was built over the Vistula. The traffic over the bridge was so great that in 1890 an additional bridge was built 30 meters away. A water station, factories, machine repair workshops, metal casting plants, cement factories, sugar manufacturing plants, breweries, and gas production operations were established in the city.

In 1920, Tczew became part of Poland.

The Jews of Tczew

Jews settled in the area surrounding Tczew already at the start of the 15th century. In order to circumvent the prohibition of living in the city itself, the Jews settled in nearby villages, and would enter the city only on days of trading or market fairs. One of the places of settlement was the Czyzykowo Farm, south of Tczew, which was the location of the Duchy of Wloclawlek. The Jews were organized in a community that managed its own affairs. The Jews traded in grain and animal hides, which were floated down the Vistula to Gdansk. Only after the division of Poland in 1772 were Jews allowed to legally live in Tczew. In 1782, there were 23 Jews in Tczew. In 1800, the community had grown to 150 people, and in 1816 there were 236 Jews.

In 1786, the community acquired a small house in which they set up a synagogue and elementary school. In 1835, with the support of trustworthy businessmen, a stone synagogue was built. In the same year, a cemetery was established, outside the city, on the way to Gniew, next to the village Baldowo. To this day, the hill at the cemetery location is called "do Zydo", meaning "belonging to the Jews". Similarly, a burial society was set up. In 1849, Rabbi Dr. Jacob Karo, one of the heads of the enlightenment movement in Prussia, appointed rabbi of the city. It seems his appointment lasted until 1879. There is no list of rabbis who served after him, until World War I.

The Jews traded in grain and animal hides, and manufactured textile products. Jews owned all of the textile stores in the city. Other Jews were skilled craftsmen. The high point for the number of Jewish residents occurred in 1887, when 515 Jews lived in the city. After this year, there is a noticeable emigration of Jews, mostly intellectuals and those with some connection to German culture, to large German cities and to America. In 1910, the number of Jews declined to 195 people. Before World War I, nine of the twenty-four large homes on the town square were owned by Jews.

After the return of Tczew to the borders of Poland at the end of World War I, the Jews who considered themselves "Germans of the Mosaic Religion" and had some connection to German culture, emigrated to Germany. There were also several families that immigrated to the Land of Israel, which testifies to the activities of the Zionistic movements in the city.

In the population census of 1921, there were 97 Jews counted in Tczew, representing 0.6% of the general population. In 1925, an additional cemetery was established, seemingly for Jews who came to Tczew from other areas of Poland. The area for the "new" cemetery was purchased from the Evangelical Church. Jews who worked with textiles and came from the area of Lodz and other regions of Poland, joined the community. In 1936, the community in Tczew included 123 Jews, both old and new, constituting 0.5% of the general population. The community had no rabbi, with the shochet serving as the cantor and as the senior religious authority, primarily in the area of kashrut.

The increase in anti-Semitism among the Christian population and the economic crisis were the additional reasons for the Jewish abandonment of the city. In 1939, eighteen Jews remained in the city.

The Holocaust

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. In order to prevent the German Army from crossing the Vistula, the Polish garrison blew up the two bridges on the river. This did not stop the Germans. On September 2, 1939, the Germans captured Tczew. On September 7, 1939, the Germans took all the Jews of the city out of their houses, cruelly tortured them, and then imprisoned them in barracks in the city. The next day, the Germans murdered most of them. They especially tortured two brothers of the Meyer family, an old, local family, before taking them out to be murdered. Only two Jews were left alive, but in a few days they were sent to the Shtuthoff concentration camp, next to Gdansk, and they were murdered there.

After the Holocaust

Tczew was liberated by the Red Army on March 12, 1945. The city suffered great destruction. The German population of 20,000 was expelled to Germany. Today, there are no Jews in Tczew. The synagogue was destroyed by the Germans a short time after the capture, and no trace of it remains.

The "old" cemetery was destroyed by the Germans. The headstones were stolen and used as construction material. After the liberation, the local population continued the destruction of the headstones, and left pits in the ground after digging in the graves looking for "Jewish treasures". There still remain headstones and bases for headstones in the area. On a broken piece of a headstone for a young woman, a birthdate of 1854 is written in Hebrew, along with a date of death of 1872. After appeals by the Jewish Community Council of Gdansk, in 1998 a memorial plaque was set in the wall of the cemetery, on which is written in Hebrew and Polish, "The Heart of Sharon. Tczew. Until the start of World War II, there was a Jewish community in Tczew. During the years 1835 to 1939, on this hill, there was a cemetery of the Jews in Tczew. May God save their souls." Set in the wall, along with the memorial plaque, are pieces of headstones that were found in the area.

In the "new" cemetery, in its time it had a boulevard of chestnut trees. The Germans and the local population destroyed that also. After the war, public buildings and a gas station were built on the site.