Morag Jewish Cemetery

The cemetery occupies a plot on a trapezoidal plan with an area of ​​0.17 ha. The exact date of establishing the cemetery is not known - it was probably established after the king of Prussia issued a decree in 1814 ordering local Jewish communities to create their own burial places. The cemetery was established outside the built-up area, on the road to Pasłęk, near the place called Richtplatz. There is no detailed information about the history of the cemetery until the Second World War. As Erwin Kruk wrote in "Gazeta Olsztyńska" (No. 55 of March 19-21, 1999), in the mid-1950s the cemetery was well preserved, with numerous tombstones standing on it. In 1954, the Presidium of the Municipal National Council in Morąg submitted a motion to close the cemetery. The justification stated: "The cemetery has been closed since 1924, the last funeral is recorded on July 27, 1924. Currently, the cemetery is very neglected, the tombstones are broken and some of them are stolen. The whole cemetery is overgrown with tall grass, which is often walked on. Cows and goats. Due to the fact that this cemetery is adjacent to a military facility, it is usually used for exercises due to the fact that it has a brick fence. There is no Jewish population in the local district and it is without any care". The Presidium of the Provincial National Council in Olsztyn proposed a greenery in the cemetery, which was opposed by the PMRN in Morąg. The authorities of Morąg intended to designate the cemetery as an exercise site for a military unit. The order to close the cemetery was signed by the Minister of Municipal Economy on May 17, 1955. In the 1990s, on the initiative of teacher Krzysztof Piotrowski, local students were carrying out cleaning work at the cemetery. In 2002, a black granite plaque was placed on the post of the former gate. The object underwent extensive destruction. Currently, there are a dozen or so unregistered tombstones in various states of preservation, in the form of sandstone steles, with inscriptions in Hebrew and German (including Golde Caspar, Chaim's daughter, Jechezkiel's wife, who died in 1869; Rafael's son Icchak, died in 1881; Samuel son of David [...] manna, died in 1886). The boundaries are legible thanks to the three-sided wall made of face brick, with brick posts covered with gable roofs, and the gate's pillar. The cemetery is additionally delimited by old maple trees. Grass is dominant in the undergrowth layer. The owner of the cemetery is the Morąg Commune, which performs periodic cleaning works there. The facility is entered in the register of immovable monuments of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. (K. Bielawski, cemetery-zydowskie.pl) The religious cemetery in Morąg was established on a plot north of the town, near the former execution site, most probably in the 1820s (it certainly existed in 1835). The necropolis was built on a rectangular trapezoidal plan with an area of ​​approximately 0.3 ha and was most probably surrounded by a brick wall with a gate and wicket in the 1890s. In the corner of the cemetery, a small brick pre-funeral home (approx. 4 m x 4 m) was probably erected, directly adjacent to the fence of the necropolis. The last burial took place at the end of the 1930s. During World War II, the cemetery was devastated by the Germans. Further damage was done after the war, and in the mid-1950s there were many tombstones here. Until today, there are relics of about 20 graves, mainly tombs and matzevot bases. Seven sandstone matzevot with inscriptions in Hebrew and German have survived in a satisfactory condition. There are also relics of the cemetery wall (on 3 sides) along with the relics of the gate and old trees. (sztetl.org.pl)