Alternate names: Wòlin [Pomeranian], Wollin [Ger]) is a name shared by the island located in the Baltic Sea just off the Polish coast and the town located on the island. Separated from the island of Usedom by the Świna River and from mainland Pomerania by the Dziwna River, water from the river Oder (Odra in Polish) flows into the Szczecin Lagoon and eventually into the Bay of Pomerania, part of the Baltic Sea. This town on the southern tip of the Wolin island off the Baltic coast at the edge of the Strait of Dziwna in Kamień Pomorski powiat in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The town, now a fishing port and gateway to the island's resorts with an approximate 4,900 population dates from the 9th century. [July 2009]
Normal 0 Established in 1818 (or 1880 or 1890), before its founding, Jews were buried the nearby cemetery in Kamien Pomorski (Cammin) and in Boguslawie near Stepnica (Birkenwalde bei Stepenitz). The 0.12-ha cemetery on a hill called Srebrne Wzgorze (Silver Hill, German Silberberg) in northern part of the town near the railway line, between the extention of Fliess-Straße (previously Neue Straße, nowadays near Prosta St). and the Dziwna river (Dievenow) is about 1.5 km from the town. The last burial took place there in 1939 or 1944. Before 1945, a fence with a gate that was locked surrounded the cemetery. The Nazis severely damaged the still not built over and hidden behind shrubbery. The local inhabitants made a rubbish dump while nearby land is cultivated. In 1989, 3 gravestones remained, one with Hebrew inscriptions untouched, but other sources say that in 1991 40 granite or sandstone gravestones with inscriptions in Yiddish and German remained, many of them ruined and moved from original location. The oldest gravestone comes from 1922. A picture taken in 1989 from the tower of the Church of St. Nicolas exists. [July 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000213
The cemetery is at Wolin, Osiedle; 72-500 Wolin, gm. Wolin, region Szczecin at 53º46' 14º38'. Present population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Jacek Borkowski, Burmistrz, 72-500 Wolin; Urzad Gminy i Miasta Wolin, tel. 0-936-613-22; 0-936-611-76 Wolin.
- Local: Urzad Gminy i Miasta Wolin, Wydzial Geodezji i Gospodarki Gruntami, Wolin.
- Manager: Ewa Stanecka, Wojewcdzki Konserwator Zabytkow ul. Kusnierska nr 20, 70-536 Szczecin, tel. 34-804.
- Interested: Archiwum Rejonowe, Ploty, 73-310 Ploty.
The community started about 1882 and had about 2,500 Jews before WW2. Samuel Noto, (zapis z nagrobka) was born in 1846. (1926 lub 1936) The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery was established between 1880 and 1890 with last burial in 1939 or 1944. The isolated suburban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning off a public road, access is open to all with a broken masonry wall but no gate. The area is about 0.12 ha, with 1 to 20 gravestones in original locations and 1-20-not in original locations with less than 25% of the stone broken. There are no visible sections. The oldest gravestone is dated 1922. The limestone, granite, sandstone and iron rough stones or boulders and with flat shaped stones have Yiddish and German inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known any mass graves or structures. The municipality owns site used for storage, agriculture, and waste dumping. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential. Private people and local residents occasionally visit. The cemetery was vandalized during WW2, but not in the last 10 years with no maintenance. The vegetation is a constant problem, disturbing/damaging graves and stones. Security, weather erosion, pollution and vandalism are moderate threats. Incompatible development is a slight threat.
A. Kowalczyk (ul. Moniuszki 4/B, 73-110 Stargard, tel. 73-44-40 Stargard) completed survey on October 12, 1991 after a visit two days earlier. Documentation: Karta Cmentarza, Wolin-Osiedle Pln, Cmentarz zydowski Wolin III, 1990. Local residents were interviewed. Kowalczyk may have more information.