Obj. ID: 52298
Jewish Funerary Art  Site of the Jewish cemetery in Goleniów, Poland

According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, the Jewish cemetery in Goleniów was established around 1816. It was located north of the Heroes’ Cemetery, at Stettiner Chaussee (Szczecińska Street), but it was placed at a distance from the road and on a hill. To the north of the cemetery there was an old animal market and a number of farm buildings. After WWII, the Jewish cemetery was razed to the ground. In the area of 0.1 ha, no tombstones have survived and today there is no trace of the cemetery except a rectangular square with regularly planted lime trees and spruce trees. The area of the old Goleniów cemetery, together with the adjacent heroes’ cemetery and the nearby Jewish cemetery, were transformed into a park.

During the construction of the park, the Jewish cemetery was not touched (there were plans to designate alleys there), because the Provincial Conservator of Monuments did not allow it. Currently, no one has searched the Jewish cemetery for tombstones hidden in the ground. It is only known that in the 1970s, when the nearby Evangelical cemetery was liquidated, the tombstones or their remains were probably taken from the Jewish cemetery (we do not know exactly in what condition the Germans left the cemetery).

On October 6, 1995, a commemorative plaque was placed in the middle of the park. The boulder is located quite far from the Jewish cemetery. There are five copper tablets around the huge boulder. On each of them there is an inscription in Polish, German, Russian, Czech and Hebrew with the following content: “In memory of all who rested forever in the Goleniów Land” (German: “Zum Gedenken an alle, die in Gollnow und Umgebung ihre letzte Ruhe gefunden haben“). The author of the obelisk design is professor Wilk from Szczecin.

The park underwent another major revitalization in 2019 and a playground for children was built on a part of the former Christian cemetery. The Jewish cemetery was not desecrated similarly at this time.

In the area of the necropolis, remains of the former fence (large concrete fragments) have been preserved.

The cemetery is located in the city park near Szczecińska Street. The nearest buildings (4-storey apartment blocks) are located at 15, 17, 19 Szczecińska Street. The cemetery is located on an oblong mound in the immediate vicinity of the low garage buildings (at their back). Access is open, and the area is not fenced.