Alternate names: Tczew [Pol], Dirschau [Ger], Tchev [Rus], Trsow [Lat], Dërszewò. 54°06' N, 18°48' E, 18 miles SSE of Gdańsk (Danzig), in E Pomerania, on the Wisła (Vistula) River. Jewish population: 515 (in 1887), 18 (in 1939). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), XII, pp. 270-276: "Tczew". Normal 0 This town on the Vistula River in Eastern Pomerania, Kociewie in northern Poland with 60,128 inhabitants in 2005 is an important railway junction known for its attractive old town and the Vistula Bridge, or Bridge of Tczew, damaged during World War II. The capital of Tczew County, the town has been within in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999 and was previously a town in Gdańsk Voivodeship (1975-1998).
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Jewish were merchants in Tczew in the 15th century, but were permitted to settle in the city only after 1772. The majority traded grain and leather. In 1887, 515 Jews lived among 1,011 residents. Many Jews immigrated America around 1900 in search of better opportunities. By 1939, only a few remained and were killed in the early days of World War II. [July 2009]
OLD CEMETERY on ul Bałdowska behind a shop: Normal 0 The gmina Jewish cemetery established in 1835 on a hill on ul Tczewie Bałdowskiej in Bałdowo village between urban and rural areas was vandalized during WWII with devastation continuing afterward. Normal 0 Gravestones disappeared and graves were searched for imagined buried valuables. In 1992, the cemetery land was sold to the owner of the company Sokpol, Stanislav Mazurkowi for production of fruit concentrates resulting in Jews visiting and finding that the cemetery was overgrown with bushes and trees. The gravestones were in varying states: standing, fallen, whole, broken, and fragments. Some are illegible while others retained perfect inscriptions in Hebrew. Under a pear tree were two matzevot from 1854 and 1872. Some gravestones had been ighted and repaired. Some graves were empty. Placed in the wall is an array of gravestone fragments with inscriptions in Polish and Hebrew. A lapidarium and fragments of gravestones in a wall have Hebrew and Polish inscriptions. Map. [July 2009]
NEW CEMETERY on Wojska Polskiego Street : Normal 0 Around 1925 on the current ul. Wojska Polskiego on land purchased from the Evangelical church, the Jews built a new 0.3-hectare cemetery with avenues of chestnut tress and three separate sections. The cemetery was destroyed by the Nazis in WW II. A gas station, ambulance unit, and an emergency service facility were built there. Normal 0 Blog. Photos. Map. [July 2009]
TCZEW (I): US Commission No. POCE000006
Alternate German name: Dirschau. Tczew is located at 54º50 18º47, 33km from Gdansk and 18 km from Starogardu Gdanskiego. The cemetery is located at ul. Baldowska, teren dawnej osady Czyzykowo. Present population is 25,000-100,000 people with fewer than 10 Jews.
- Town: Prezydent Miasta, Urzad Miasta,Pl. Grunwaldzki 1, 83-100 Tczew, tel. 31-31-20 centrala.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, ul. Kotwicznikow 20, 80-881 Gdansk, tel. 31-62-67, 31-62-68 centrala.
- Local: Regionalny Osrodek Studiow i Ochrony Srodowiska Kulturowego, ul. Sw. Trojcy 5, 80-822 Gdansk, Tel. 31-77-12, 31-75-22 Centrala.
- Interested: Dr. Hanna Domanska, ul. Wladyslawa IV 34/3,81-742 Sopot, Tel. 51-04-22.
The earliest known Jewish community was about 1786. 1931 Jewish population was 103. Effecting the Jewish Community was the ban on permanent settlement in 1309; the settling of Jews in town after 1772; building of a house of prayer in 1786; the building of a synagogue in 1835; the rabbinate until 1914; emigration between 1920 and 1933; and extermination in 1939. Rabin Jakub Caro lived here and is buried in the cemetery. The Progressive/Reform cemetery was probably established in the 19th century. Landmark: a landmark in the master plan of the city. The isolated rural flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall or gate. The approximate size of cemetery, both before WWII and now, is 0.23 hectares. Fewer than 20 gravestones, all in original positions and less than 25% broken or toppled, date from the 19th century. The granite flat stones with carved relief decoration have Hebrew inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves or structures. The municipality owns site used for agriculture. Properties adjacent are agricultural. The cemetery boundaries remain the same since 1939. Rarely, local residents stop. It was vandalized during World War II, but not in the last ten years. There has been no maintenance. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem that prevents access. Security, weather erosion, pollution, vegetation, vandalism, extant incompatible nearly development, and planned or proposed incompatible development are all serious threats (next to a heavily used road).
Dr. Hanna Domanska, ul. Wladyslawa IV 34/3,81-742 Sopot, Tel. 51-04-22 completed survey on 24/07/1991. Documentation: cemetery card and H. Damanska's text, The Tree of Stone Tears; The Jewish Communities of the Gdansk Vovoidship; Their History and Culture (Gdansk, 1991).
TCZEW (II): US Commission No. POCE000014
See Tczew I for town information. The Progressive/ Reform cemetery is located at ul. Baldowska, teren dawnej osady Czyzykowo. The unlandmarked cemetery was established around 1786. The isolated urban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall fence or gate. The size before WWII was.90 ha., but it was liquidated in 1974. There are no stones. It was vandalized during WWII but not in the last 10 years.
Dr. Hanna Domanska (see above) completed survey. Documentation: the archives of Voivodship Conservator, and see also Gdansk-Chelm.
TCZEW (III): US Commission No. POCE000015
See Tczew I for town information. The Progressive/Reform cemetery was established in the 19th or 20th century with last known burial 1918. Landmark: a landmark in the master plan of the city. The urban flat land, separate but near other cemeteries, has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall or gate. The approximate size of the cemetery before WWII was 1.30 hectares; it is now 0.30 hectares. The decrease in size results from commercial or industrial development. No gravestones are visible or structures. Municipality owns site used for recreational and industrial use. Properties adjacent are commercial or industrial. The cemetery is visited rarely. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II, but not in the last ten years. The cemetery faces serious threats from pollution and incompatible nearby extant development (Adjacent property is the CPN filling station).
Dr. Hanna Domanska (see above) completed survey on 30/07/1991 using the card of the cemetery and H. Damanska's text, The Tree of Stone Tears; The Jewish Communities of the Gdansk Vovoidship; Their History and Culture (Gdansk, 1991)