Kamien Pomorski Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The Jewish cemetery in Kamień Pomorski was established at the beginning of the 19th century. It is also known that before 1800 Abraham Lewin was a gravedigger in the community. At that time, the location of the cemetery on the hill was referred to as “the cemetery in front of the city”.
It is known that it was located between today’s Rejtana and Chrobrego streets (then it was probably the area between Mühlenstraße (Młynarska Street) and Feldstraße (Polna Street)). The area of the cemetery was small, its triangular area was about 0.18 ha.
The cemetery where the last burial took place in 1931 was not destroyed by the Nazis. The cemetery was finally closed on November 16, 1961, by order of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Provincial National Council. Seven years later, during the Polish antisemitic campaign, on the order of the Minister of the Interior, the provincial authorities in Szczecin ordered Przedsiębiorstwo Gospodarki Komunalnej i Mieszkaniowej (municipal and housing enterprise) in Kamień Pomorski to liquidate the cemetery. The remains of those buried there, along with the tombstones, were then taken away.
Nothing has survived to indicate that this area was once a cemetery. This was confirmed by a former resident of Kamień Pomorski who visited the place in 1990. It was not until June 14, 1996, on the initiative of the now defunct Kamień Intelligence Club, headed by Dr. Andrzej Ślęzak, and the mayor of Anatol Kołoszuk, that it was decided to mark this place and a matzevot-shaped commemorative plaque was placed there. This plaque was destroyed just a few days later. Another attempt to commemorate the site of the cemetery was made on the initiative of the Social Guardians of Monuments and the Society of Kamień Land Lovers, as well as thanks to the financial support of the Kamień Pomorski Commune. On March 31, 2008, an obelisk with the inscription “In memory of the pre-war Jewish community in Kamień Pomorski” was erected in the area of the former cemetery, where there are now green areas.
(sztetl.org.pl)
