Alternate names: Starogard Gdański [Pol], Preußisch Stargard [Ger], Starogard, Starogarda. 53°58' N, 18°33' E, in E Pomerania, 27 miles S of Gdańsk (Danzig). Jewish population: 529 (in 1885). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), XI, pp. 248-251: "Starogard". The name names "Old Town of Gdańsk". This town in Eastern Pomerania in NW Poland with 48,328 inhabitants in 2004 on the coast of Gdańsk Bay is the capital of Starogard powiat in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999 and previously in Gdańsk Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998.Starogard is the biggest city of the region called Kociewie and is populated by Kocievians. Gmina Starogard Gdański contains the villages and settlements of Barchnowy, Brzeźno Wielkie, Ciecholewy, Dąbrówka, Helenowo, Jabłowo, Janin, Janowo, Klonówka, Kochanka, Kokoszkowy, Kolincz, Koteże, Krąg, Kręgski Młyn, Linowiec, Lipinki Szlacheckie, Marywil, Najmusy, Nowa Wieś Rzeczna, Okole, Owidz, Owidz-Młyn, Płaczewo, Rokocin, Rywałd, Siwiałka, Stary Las, Sucumin, Sumin, Szpęgawsk, Trzcińsk, Żabno, Zduny and Żygowice. Normal 0 For hundreds of years, Jewish residence was banned in Starogard. Organized Jewish settlement dates from 1780. The still-standing synagogue dates from 1948. In September 1939 in a nearby forest called Szpęgawski Forest (NE of the town) Germans had mass executions about 7 000 Poles, among them 1680 Kocborowo (Konradstein) and Świecie psychiatric hospitals patients. About 500 handicapped children were killed in the hospital. In 1931, 133 Jews lived here. [July 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000005
Alternate name: Stargard (German). Starogard Gdanski is located in Gdansk at 53°5718°30, 24km from Tczewa. The cemetery is located at ul. Bohaterow Getta. Present town population is 25,000-100,000 with fewer than 10 Jews.
- Town: Prezydent Miasta, Urzad Miasta, ul. Gdanska 6, 83-200 Starogard Gdanski, Tel. 2-50-67 bezposredni.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytokow, ul. Kotwicznikow 20, 80-881 Gdansk, Tel. 31-62-67. 31-62-68 Centrala.
- Local: Dr. Hanna Domanska, ul. Wladyslawa IV 34/3, 81-742 Sopot, Tel. 51-04-22.
- Interested: Regionalny Osrodek Studiowi Ochrony Srodowiska Kulturowego, ul. Sw. Trojcy 5, 80-822 Gdansk, Tel. 31-77-12, 31-75-22.
The earliest known Jewish community is 1780. 1931 Jewish population was 123. A ban on permanent settlement occurred in 1309; the founding of the town community was 1780; the development of residential-commercial-industrial ghetto and the rabbinate in the mid-19th century, emigration after 1920, and extermination in 1939. Abraham Poitr Kaufmann, Hugo Kaufmann, Albert Kufmann and Arie Goldfarb lived here. Buried in the cemetery are Jehuda ben Icchak Rosenberg and Arie Goldfarb. The cemetery was established during the mid-19th century with last known Progressive/Reform Jewish burial in 1939. Landmark: Register of Monuments as No. A 928. The isolated suburban artificial hill has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall or gate. Before World War II, the cemetery occupied 1.4 hectares and is currently 0.4 hectares due to agriculture. Fewer than 20 visible gravestones, all in original positions with 25% and 50% toppled or broken, date from 1884-19th century. The sandstone finely smoothed and inscribed stones or flat stones with carved relief decoration have Hebrew and German inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. The municipality owns the cemetery property used for waste dumping. Properties adjacent are agricultural. Rarely, local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II, but not in the last ten years. No maintenance. Vegetation overgrowth is a constant problem that disturbs both graves and access. Water drainage is a seasonal problem. Security (uncontrolled access) is serious threat as the site is not fenced and is close to the horse market and crops. Weather erosion, vegetation, and vandalism are also serious threats.
Dr. Hanna Domanska, ul. Wladyslawa IV 34/3, 81-742 Sopot, tel. 51-04-22 completed survey 7/91. Documentation: cemetery card and H. Domanska's text, The Tree of Stone Tears; The Jewish Communities of the Gdansk Vovoidship; Their History and Culture. (Gdansk, 1991). Dr. Domanska visited in 1988.
Source: Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992. p. 78