Alternate names: Wrzeszcz, Langfuhr. 54°23' N 18°37' E, 177.1 miles NNW of Warszawa. This is one of the boroughs of the northern Polish city of Gdańsk (Danzig) and its most populous part. German author Günter Grass was born here in 1927. The former modern synagogue designed by Imberg and Friedman, built in 1927 is now used as a music school as well as a Jewish community office and can be seen by appointment. (ul. Partyzantów 7)-a modernistic synagogue. [July 2009]
USCommission POCE000007
Alternate German name is Langfuhr, Stadtteil Danzig. Town is located in wojewedztwo Gdanskie, at 54º24 18º37, 5 km from Gdansk. The address is ul. Traugutta. Present population is 5,000-25,000 with 10-100 Jews.
- Town: Prezydent Miasta, Urzad Miasta, 80-803 Gdansk, Dlugie Ogrody 8/12, tel. 32-30-41 centrala.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konsewator Zabytkow, 80-881 Gdansk ul. Kotwicnikow, 20, tel. 31-62-67, 31-62-68 centrala.
- Interested: Regionalny Csrodek Studiow I Ochrony Srodowiska Kulturowego, 81-822 Gdansk ul. Sw. Trojcy 5, Tel. 31-77-12, 31-75-22.
The earliest Jewish community dates from 1749. August 15, 1939 Conservative or Progressive Jewish population was 3,900 (including Gdansk). After 1734, there was a permanent settlement. The board of the community was established in 1775; a synagogue was built in the middle of the 19th century. Around 1883, the Jewish population of Gdansk merged with this one; the emigration out of this town started in 1933, and then came the extermination. Rabin David Weiss, Herman Lewinski, and Dr. Ernest Lichtenstein lived here. The Jews cemetery was created in the 17th century. Landmark: master plan of Wrzeszcza. The isolated urban crown of the hill has no sign or marker. Reached by turning off directly from a public road, access is open to all with no wall, fence or gate. The cemetery is 0.45 ha. 1 to 20 stones are visible, less than 25% of its original. Stones removed were incorporated into streets, specifically ul Trauqutta. Stones dated from the 19th century. Some tombstones have bronze decorations and Hebrew and German inscriptions. There are no known mass grave or structures. The municipality owns now the cemetery, used for recreation. A forest is adjacent to the cemetery, which is smaller due to the overgrowing forest. Private visitors and local people stop. The cemetery was vandalized before and during WW2 with no care. Vegetation, weather, security, and vandalism are serious threats. Vegetation is a constant problem disturbing graves.
Dr. Hanna Domanska, 81-742 Sopot ul. Wladyslawa IV 34/3, tel. 51-04-72 completed this survey on August 4, 1991. Documentation: "dokumentacja ewidencyjna, H. Domanska, Kamienne drzewo placzu (see Gdansk-Chelm) Gminy zydowskie region gdanskiego, ich dzieje i zabytki. Gdansk 1991."
BOOK: Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992. p. 79
UPDATE: http://www.polishjews.org/synag/gdansk.htm has synagogue sketch. [August 2005]