Alternate names: Ostróda [Pol], Osterode [Ger], Osterode in Ostpreußen, Ostród, Ostródz. 53°42' N, 19°59' E, 70 miles SE of Gdańsk (Danzig), 21 miles W of Olsztyn (Allenstein). Jewish population: 222 (in 1880), 156 (in 1933). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), VII, pp. 680-682: "Ostród". This town in Ostróda powiat in the Masurian Lake District in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship with 33,603 inhabitants in 2005.
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In 1707 A Jewish resident is documented. In 1735 that number increased to ten, the wealthy Abraham Ascher Samulon family that engaged in trade in China. Jewish population: 1812-15, 1846-108 (3.8%), 1858-160 (4.9%), 1880-222, 1900-242 who were almost 10% of the local middle school students and 16% of the municipal council. From 1835,the house of prayer stood on the current ul. Puławskiego. The new Moorish synagogue was built in 1893, when current ul. Olsztyn was called Gartenstraße. In the 1930s, life for the Jews changed. In 1930, the Jewish cemetery was vandalized while arson was attempted at the synagogue. In 1932 Lonky factory merchant in the market was bombed. In 1933, 123 Jews lived there. The first pogroms occurred in 1935 abd on Kristallnacht (November 9-10, 1938) at the synagogue, the tahara, and burial ground. In 1937, the Jewish population dropped to 75. 17 May 17, 1939, only seven Jews remained and seventeen of mixed marriages. [June 2009]
US Commission No AS 171
Alternate name: Osterode in German. Ostroda is in region Olsztynskie, 53º42 19º58, 42 km from Olsztyn. The cemetery is on "Polish Hill", Armii Ludowej Street. Present population is 25,000-100,00 with no Jews.
- Local: Urzad Miasta ul. Mickiewicza 24, 14-100 Ostrode, tel. 39-71.
- Regional: Urzad region w Olsztynie Wydiat Gospodarlu Terenowoj ul. Pilsudskiego 7/9; tel. 232-276; 10-959 Olsztyn; Panslwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow Oddziat w Olsztynie ul. Podwale 1, tel. 27-21-36, 10-076 Olsztyn. Mgr. inz Elzbieta Szygula-Zielinska Olsztyn 10-435, ul. Suiteziarki 6/3, tel. 33-29-22
The Jewish community was established in 1707; the landmarked cemetery in 1735. 1937 Jewish population (census) was 75. The last known Orthodox and Progressive-Reform burial was late 1930's. The suburban crown of the hill called "Polish Hill" is part of a municipal cemetery. Access off a public road is open to all with no sign or marker. A broken masonry wall surrounds the site; the gate was destroyed. The Jewish part of the municipal cemetery covers about 0.20 hectare. 100-500 gravestones, all in original locations with less than 25% toppled or broken, date 1850-19th century. The sandstone flat stones with carved relief decorations have Hebrew and German inscriptions. The municipality owns the site used only as a Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are residential. Local residents or private visitors stop rarely. Vegetation overgrowth is a problem restricting access. Care involved clear vegetation. Security, weather erosion, pollution, vegetation and vandalism are only slight threats.
Wiktor Knercer, 10-685 Olsztyn, ul. Barcza 33m 16m tel. 33-86-07 visited site and completed survey September 1991. Documentation: Friederichs Deutches Stadtbuch...., Stuttgart, 1939; K. Burger Kreisbuch Osterode Ostprenssen, Kiel 1977.