54°10' N 17°58' E, 182.3 miles NW of Warszawa. Skorzewo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kościerzyna within Kościerzyna powiat, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, 6 km (4 mi) N of Kościerzyna and 49 km (30 mi) SW of the regional capital Gdańsk with a population of 1,323. [July 2009]
US Commission No. POCE00003
Alternate German name: Schoneck. The town is in Gdanskie province at 54º04 08º27, 19 km from Starogardu Gdanskiego and 41 km from Gdanske. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Prezydent Miasta, Urzad Miasta i Gminy, 83-410 Skarszewy, ul. 8 Marca 18, tel. 88-22-01 centrala.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, 80-881 Gdansk ul. Kotwicznikow 20, tel. 31-62-67, 31-62-68 centrala.
- Interested: Dr. Hanna Domanska, 81-742 Sopot ul. Wladyslawa IV 34/3, tel. 51-04-22. Regionalny Csrodek Studiow i Ochrony Srodowiska Kulturowewego, 80-822 Gdansk ul. Sw. Trojcy 5, tel. 3-77-12 or 31-75-22.
The earliest known Jewish community was approximately 1780. 1921 Jewish population was 40. In 1931, there were 33 in conjunction with Koscierzyna. The town was permanently settled in 1309. In the second half of the 15th century, Jews settled at Chojnickie suburb and migrated to town after 1772. In 1780, the synagogue existed. In the 19th-20th centuries, there was emigration, and in 1939, extermination. The cemetery was established around 1780, approximately 3 km from the congregation. The Progressive/Reform cemetery is landmarked with the Division of Monuments of the Voivodship Conservator of Monuments. The isolated wooded crown of a hill by water has a Polish sign mentioning this as a place of torment. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall or fence or gate. Before World War II, the cemetery size was approximately 2.00 ha. and now is 0.65 ha. 20 to 100 sandstone flat stones with carved relief decoration, most in original location with 1-20 not and 25%-50% toppled or broken, date from 1872-19th century. Inscriptions are in Hebrew or German. The cemetery contains special monuments to pogrom victims but no known mass graves. Municipality owns site. Properties adjacent are forest. The loss of land since before World War II is due to the overgrowth of the forest. Occasionally, private visitors and local residents stop. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II with no maintenance since. There are no structures in the cemetery. Weather erosion and vegetation are very serious threats with damage to the gravestones; security is a serious threat; and vandalism is a moderate threat because of the forest and no fence.
Dr. Hanna Domanska, 81-742 Sopot, ul. Wladyslawa IV 34/3, tel. 51-04-22 completed survey July 21, 1991. Documentation: Archives, bibliography, and The Tree of Stone Tears; The Jewish Communities of the Gdansk Vovoidship; Their History and Culture. H. Domanska, Gdansk 1991. She visited in 1988.