Alternate names: Berżniki [Pol], Berzhniki [Rus], Berżniki Folwark [Polish], Russian: Бержники. 54°05' N, 23°28' E, 22 miles E of Suwałki, 5 miles ESE of Sejny, in NE Poland near the modern Poland-Lithuania border in Gmina Sejny within Sejny, Podlaskie Voivodeship. Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), I, p. 156: [March 2009]
US Commission AS 104: Cemetery location: approximately 0.3 km (0.2 miles) N of the road from Berzniki to Giby, E of the farm buildings "Berzniki-Folwark" in lot number 10. Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Local: Jan Skindzier-wojt, Urzad Gminy w Sejnach, 16-500 Sejny, ulica Swierczewskiego 1, and tel.76.
- Regional: Stanislaw Tumidajewicz-Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, 16-400 Suwalki, ulica Kosciuszki 7, and tel.663741. Archiwum Panstwowe w Suwalkach, ulica Kosciuszki 69, tel.66 2167.
The earliest Jewish community dates from the second half of the 18th century. In 1765, there were 8 Jewish families, and in 1798, 38 Jews. The Jewish cemetery was established in the 18th century. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked isolated rural flat land with no signs or markers. Reached by crossing private property, access is open to all with no walls, fences, or gates. The pre- and post-WWII size is 0.3 ha (0.75 acres). No gravestones are visible. The location of removed stones is unknown. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. The cemetery is now used for agriculture. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II, but not in the last 10 years. There is no maintenance or structures. Slight threat: vandalism. Moderate threat: vegetation, a constant problem disturbing the graves. On September 29, 1994, Dr. Janusz Mackiewicz, 16-400 Suwalki, ulica 1 Maja 27a/47, tel.d. (home) 663756, tel.sl. (work) 663741 completed survey.
