Alternate names: Ostrzeszów [Pol], Schildberg [Ger]. 51°25' N, 17°57' E, 81 miles SSE of Poznań (Posen), 17 miles SSE of Ostrów Wielkopolski (Ostrowo). Jewish population: 422 (in 1885). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), VII, pp. 734-740: "Ostrzeszów". This town in Greater Poland Voivodeship is the administrative seat of Ostrzeszów powiat and Gmina Ostrzeszów with a population of 14,490 in 2004, 80 km from Wrocław, 100 km from Katowice and 130 km from Poznań. In WWII, most of the Polish inhabitants were deported or exterminated. A POW camp, Stalag XXI-A was located in some of the town buildings in 1940. In 1943, the camp was changed to Oflag XXI-C for 1130 Norwegian officers. Apart from the town of Ostrzeszów, Gmina Ostrzeszów contains the villages and settlements of Bledzianów, Jesiona, Kochłowy, Korpysy, Kotowskie, Kozły, Królewskie, Kuźniki, Marydół, Myje, Niedźwiedź, Olszyna, Ostrzeszów-Pustkowie, Potaśnia, Rejmanka, Rogaszyce, Rojów, Siedlików, Szklarka Myślniewska, Szklarka Przygodzicka, Turze and Zajączki. [June 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000480
Ostrzeszow is located in region Kaliskie at 51º25, 17º57, 75 km NE of Wrockaw. The cemetery is located at 37 Zamkowa Street. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Ostrzeszow is Urzad Miasta I Gminy Zamkowa Street.
- Local: Urzad Rejonowy Zamkowa St 51.
- Regional: Psoz-Wkz, W. Fraucirkauska St, 62-800, Kalisz.
The earliest known Jewish community was 18th century. 1931 Jewish population was 122. Effecting the Jewish community was the building of the synagogue before 1886. The Orthodox Jewish cemetery was probably established in the 18th century. The isolated urban flat land has no sign or marker. A continuous fence with locking gate surrounds it. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open with permission. The present size of the cemetery is about 0.3 hectares. No gravestones are visible, although they still existed in the late 1950s. The municipality owns site used for kindergarten. Properties adjacent are residential. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. It is never visited. The cemetery was vandalized during W.W.II, and after 1950. No maintenance. Within the limits of the cemetery is an unlandmarked pre-burial house used for dwelling that could be reconstructed or demolished. There are no threats.
Michal Witwicki, Dembowshiego 12/53, tel. 6418345, 02-784 Warszawa completed survey. Eleonora Bergman and Michad Witwicki visited the site on Oct. 18, 1991. Mariauna Kaspvzyk, who lives in the pre-burial house at 37 Zamkowa Street, was interviewed.