Alternate names: Gołdap [Pol], Goldap [Ger], Geldapė [Lith], Goldapp. 54°18' N, 22°18' E, 29 miles NW of Suwałki, near the border with Kaliningrad oblast. Jewish population: 84 (in 1880), 58 (in 1905). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), II, pp. 667-669: "Gołdap". Gołdap is a town and the seat of Gołdap administrative district in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship located on the Gołdapa River between the Wzgórza Szeskie (Seesker Höhen) hills and the Puszcza Romincka forest. 2004 population of 13,703. Its coat of arms depicts the House of Hohenzollern and Brandenburg. During World War II, the Nazis planned for Goldap to be one of the strongholds guarding the rest of East Prussia from the Red Army. As a result of heavy fighting for the city and the regions directly east of it, in August and September 1944, 90% of the town was destroyed. According to German reports, about 50 civilians were murdered (some raped) by the Red Army on its initial entry into Goldap in October 1944. It was the first town of the German Reich to fall. Iin November 1944 the Wehrmacht reconquered Goldap and kept it until the end of December. [May 2009]
In the former German E Prussia. Givat Shmuel, near Tel Aviv, is twinned with Goldap. Benny Hershkowitz; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. visited the Goldap cemetery with a Delegation in 1996.
- Old cemetery: Stones are either broken or unreadable. Two stones that I was able to decipher are Rebecca Silberstein (no dates given) and for Ester Susskind. The cemetery is still being well-maintained by the municipality. A new gravel path was put down for the benefit of the Delegation. [date?]
- GOLDAP I: US Commission No. AS 116
Located in region Suwalskie. The town is located at 54 12N ºand is 22 18E km as is 60 km from Suwalki. Cemetery location: Goldap, ul. Cmentarna, lot or parcel # 522. Present town population is 5,000 to 25,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Marek Miros, Burmistrz, Urzad Miasta i Gminy w Goldapi, 19-500 Goldap, Pl. Zwyciestwa 14, tel. 150068.
- Regional: Stanislaw Tumidajewicz- Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, 16-400 Suwalki, ul. Kosciuszki 7, tel. 663741.
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- New cemetery: The hopelessly overgrown site seems to have not a headstone or part of one. The few remnants could have been bases for headstones. Source: Leo Direktor, Netanya, Israel; (1998) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- The earliest known Jewish community was early 19th century. No other town or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The urban flat land, separate but near other cemeteries, has a sign or plaque in local Polish language that mentions the year of restoration and the name of the institution that paid. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. A continuous masonry wall, a locking gate, and gauze [sic] surround the cemetery. Approximate size of cemetery before World War II was.03 ha. The present size is the same. 20 to 100 stones in original location with 75% toppled or broken, date from 1860-19th century. The granite and limestone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decorations or sculptured monuments have Hebrew and German inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns property now used for Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent are commercial or industrial and residential. Occasionally, Jewish or non-Jewish private visitors and local residents visit. It was not vandalized. Maintenance: cleaning stones, clearing vegetation, fixing wall and gate. The local municipal authorities carried out work in 1989. Authorities occasionally clear or clean. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Weather erosion, vegetation and vandalism are only slight threats.
- Dr Janusz Mackiewicz, 16-400 Suwalki ul.1 Maja 27a/47, tel.d.663756, tel.sl.663741. Completed survey on Sept. 22, 1994.
GOLDAP II: AS 117
Cemetery location: Goldap, ul. Cmentarna, lot or parcel # 516. For general information see Goldap I. The cemetery was established in the 2nd half of the 19th century. No other town or villages used this cemetery. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery was established in the second half of the 19th century. The urban hillside, separated but near other cemeteries, has no sign or marker. Reached by crossing barren public property and across from the Evangelical cemetery, access is open to all. A broken masonry wall with no gate surrounds the cemetery. Approximate size of cemetery before World War II and now is 0.08 ha. 1 to 20 Sockles (bases) only with 25 percent toppled or broken. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns property now used for Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent are commercial or industrial and the Evangelical cemetery. Private visitors stop rarely. The cemetery has been vandalized but not in the last ten years. There has been no maintenance at the cemetery at all. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. No threats, but vegetation overgrowth is a constant problem. Survey information is the same as the above.