54°24' N 16°25' E, 240.3 miles NW of Warszawa. Rusko (formerly Rußhagen) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Darłowo within Sławno County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship in NW Poland, 3 km (2 mi) S of Darłowo, 18 km (11 mi) W of Sławno, and 162 km (101 mi) NE of the regional capital Szczecin. The village has a population of 221. Before 1945, the area was part of Germany. [June 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000324
Alternate German names: Rosan and Russhagen. Rusko is located in Koszalin region at 54º24N 16º25E, 1.5 km. from Darkowo. Cemetery: in the N of village. Present population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Local: Urzad Miasti I Gminy w Darkowie and mgr. inr. arch. Andrzej Fijakkowski, Wojewodzki. Konserwator Zabytkow, 75-950 Koszalin, ul. Lampego 34, tel. 28-322.
- Regional: Panistwowa Sturba Ochrony Zabythow, mgr. Srazyna Salamon, address as above. Lampego 34, tel. 28-313.
The cemetery was established in the beginning of the 19th century. Dartowo, about 1.5 km away, also used this Progressive/Reform cemetery. Landmarked: Register of the Monuments of Koszalin voivodship no. 1205/87 (May 4, 1987). The isolated suburban 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 pre-and post-WWII size is 0.12 ha. 1-20 gravestones, not in original location with less than 25% toppled or broken, date from 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1878. The sandstone and iron, flat-shaped stones have Hebrew and German inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. A private individual owns property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent property is agricultural. The property size compared to before WWII is the same. Rarely, local residents visit. It was vandalized during World War II. There is no maintenance, no care. Within the limits of the cemetery is a pre-burial house foundation. Vegetation is a seasonal problem. Security, weather erosion, vandalism, and incompatible planned or proposed development are serious threats. Vegetation and incompatible nearby existing and planned or proposed development pose slight threats.
Henryk Grecki, 70-534 Szczecin, ul. Soltysia 3/13, tel. 377-41 completed survey on June 10, 1988. Documentation: the collection of Przemyslaw Burchards Paniathi I Zabytki, Kkulturi Zydowskuen w Polsce w-wa 1990. This documentation was not used because Srecki deemed it unreliable. mgr. Ini Elzbieta Seyputa visited site on May 10, 1988.