Jewish Cemetery in Połczyn-Zdrój

The Jewish cemetery in Połczyn-Zdrój was established in the 18th century by the road to Świdwin, about 1.5 km north of the town, between the railway tracks leading to Złocieniec and to Świdwin. It covered 0.3 ha. An earlier cemetery lay on a hill behind today's "Polanin" hotel, and at the beginning of the 20th century a road to the brewery cut across it.

History

The Jewish community was among the larger ones in West Pomerania. In the second half of the 18th century about 30 adherents of Judaism lived in the town, a hundred years later more than 200. By the mid-1930s about 250 people had been buried in the cemetery. The Jewish cemetery was devastated during Kristallnacht, on the night of 9/10 November 1938. The final destruction of the gravestones took place after the war: in 1970 the wall was pulled down and the matzevot (Jewish gravestones) were sold. Until the early 1990s seven 19th-century gravestones survived, and the last was destroyed at that time.

Present state

On the grounds of the cemetery lie fragments of broken gravestones. In 1998 the site was tidied and marked. Its existence is confirmed by trees and an information board.

Practical information

• Połczyn-Zdrój, the road to Świdwin, about 1.5 km north of the town.
• It is a place of remembrance and requires respectful behaviour. In the town, about 1.2 km from the cemetery, stands the palace in Połczyn-Zdrój.