It was halted with the fall of the Republic in 1772. The restrictive policy of the Prussian monarch forced the local Jews to leave the town at the end of the 18th century. However, some remained despite the ban; their presence was tolerated due to the need to maintain the supply chain and market local wool and industrial products.

From the 19th century onwards, Jews increasingly settled in the town. The newcomers mainly came from the surrounding villages within the province of West Prussia. In 1774 4 Jewish families lived in Lędyczek, in 1812 - 24, in 1816 - 100 people, in 1831 - 143 (Jews constituted 23% of the total population), in 1846 - 185, in 1871 - 182, in 1880 - 193, in 1892 - 169 (38 families), in 1890 - 108, in 1905 - 113, in 1913 - 62, in 1925 - about 50 (about 7%) or 61, in 1933 - 45, in May 1939 - 24.

The Description

The Jewish community was established at the beginning of the 19th century; a cemetery was founded at the same time. The community also included Kölpin (Kölpin) and Cierznie (Peterswalde), and Jews from Okonek (Ratzebuhr in Pommern) were also buried in the cemetery. The statute of the municipality was passed in 1858. The synagogue was founded around 1869, probably in an old adapted building. There was no school, the children attended the public school together with the German ones, but a religious teacher was employed who at the same time performed the duties of cantor and ritual shochet. In addition to trade, the Jews in Lędyczek were engaged in crafts; most of the Jewish shops were located in Chausseestraße.

A new synagogue building was not erected until the 1920s. It was burnt down during the Kristallnacht in November 1938. In 1939, most of the Jews were forced to leave the town and went mainly to Berlin. The few who remained were deported and interned in a camp near Piła in March 1940.

The Jewish cemetery in Lędyczek was established at the beginning of the 19th century. A map from 1937 shows that it was situated outside the town, in the forest; access was from today's Kościuszki Street (Polish: ul. Kościuszki). It had a square plan of 0.65 ha and was not fenced. The cemetery was devastated during World War II. Until recently there were several sandstone tombstones here, the oldest dating from 1897, bearing inscriptions in Hebrew and German. Today there is only a single fragment of a gravestone.

Właściciel praw autorskich do opisu: Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.