Bartoszyce (German: Bartenstein is a town on the Łyna River in northeastern Poland with 25,621 inhabitants (as of 2004). It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.54°15' N 20°49' E, Bartenstein became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and the Prussian Province of East Prussia in 1773. During the Napoleonic Wars, Prussia and the Russian Empire signed a treaty of alliance in the town on 16 April 1807. Noted for its oak trade, arrival of the railroad in 1868 lead to industrialization including an iron foundry, a machine factory, and a wagon factory. A garrison town for the Prussian Army, the town was made the district capital in 1902. In January 1945 (WWII), Bartenstein was 50-60% destroyed during fighting with the Red Army. After Potsdam, the town became part of Poland with the German population evacuated and later expelled. Renamed Bartoszyce, the town repopulated with Poles and other Slavs was in Olsztyn Voivodeship from 1975-1998 and became part of Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. [March 2009]
CEMETERY: Located on J. Bema ulica, the cemetery was established in 1820. A Holocaust memorial and a few destroyed matzevot are all that remain of the 0.15 ha site. [March 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000266
Location: 52°59 15°12. Alternate German name: Bartenstein. Bartoszyce is located in Olsztyn region, 88km from Olsztyn, 138.7 miles N of Warszawa. The cemetery is located at ulica J. Bema. The town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Urzad Miasta.
- Regional: Urzad Wojewodzki Konserwator w Olsztynie Wydzial, Gospodarki Terenouej, ulica J. Pilsudskiego 7/9, 10-959 Olsztyn tel. 232-276 and
- Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow, Oddzial w Olsztynie, ulica Podwale 1, 10-076 Olsztyn tel. 27-21-36.
- Others: mgr. inz. Elzbieta, Szygula-Zielinska, ulica Switezianki 6/3, 10-435 Olsztyn tel. 33-29-22 and mgr. Wiktor Knercer, Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow, Oddzial w Olsztynie, ulica Podwale 1, 10-076, Olsztyn tel. 27-21-36.
Earliest known Jewish community dates from 1737-1753. 1921 Jewish population (census) was 61. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery was established about 1820. The last known Orthodox or Progressive Jewish burial was in 1939. The isolated suburban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road and crossing private property, access is open to all with no wall, fence, or gate. The pre- and post-WWII size is 0.15 hectares. There are no surviving gravestones, structures, maintenance, or known mass graves. Municipality owns site used for recreational, industrial, or commercial use. Properties adjacent are residential. The boundaries are smaller than in 1939 because of housing development. The cemetery is visited rarely. The cemetery was not vandalized within the past ten years. Security and vandalism are very serious threats. Wiktor Knercer, ulica Bema 33m16, 10-684 Olsztyn visited site and completed this survey in January 1992, Tel: 33-86-07 with no additional documentation. No interviews were conducted. [1995]