Polanow Jewish Cemetery

Until 1812, the Jewish community in Polanów did not have its own cemetery, and its deceased members were buried in the cemetery in Szczecinek (Neustettin). The cemetery in Polanów, was established in the first half of the 19th century, at today’s Partyzancka Street, on the corner with 24/3, Wolności Street. It was located in the forest, on the left side of the road on the Große Aussicht (“Great View”; today Warblewska Góra), north of the local stadium. There was a 100 m long road leading to the entrance. The cemetery, 0.72 ha in area, was surrounded by a high wooden fence and closed to visitors. In 1939 or later, the cemetery was devastated, the matzevot were overturned, smashed and trampled. The cemetery was officially closed in 1945, although it was still in quite good condition at the time. In the post-war years, the remains of graves could still be found in this area, while around 1990, the then mayor of Polanów built his house on the site of the cemetery. It now houses an inn with a disco and a concrete surface, used for tennis and ice skating. No trace of the existence of the necropolis has survived.

On December 28, 1995, at a meeting of the Polanów City Council, a decision was made to erect a commemorative monument on the site of the Jewish cemetery and to place boards with inscriptions in Polish, German and Hebrew. An inscription was proposed that reads as follows: “In honour of the citizens of the town of Polanów of Jewish origin. Families: Wolf, Titzer, Salomon, Kersten, Hirschfeld, Meyer, Ludmann, Samuel, Abraham, Benjamin, Blumenheim, Leske, Aron, Wolff, Rohr, dr Sachs, Scheidemann, Rosen, Kohls, Jacoby, Körbel, Zander, Kirch, Caspary , Olitzky and Israel. 1717-1944. In 1861, 97 Jews lived in Polanów, i.e. 4.5% of the population. There was a Jewish cemetery in this place. “The content of this inscription was to be consulted with the Department for Religious Affairs of the district authorities in Koszalin (Köslin). The costs of the investment were to be borne by the former German inhabitants of the city, while the city itself was to take care of its implementation. The project temporarily collapsed due to the lack of a sponsor.