In April 1828, the growing Jewish community converted the house at Polnischestrasse 21 into a synagogue. In 1845, 160 Jews lived in the town (11% of the total population). In 1853, a new synagogue was built at Schlossstrasse. Around 1856, a mikveh was added to it. In 1867, 216 Jews lived in Wołczyn, while there were 197 Jews in 1871 (9.1% of the total population). In 1875, a Jewish school was established.

The decrease in numbers was influenced by economic migrations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, followed by geopolitical changes. In 1925, 107 Jews lived in Wołczyn, while that number decreased to 80 by 1932.

During the so-called Kristallnacht of 9/10 November 1938, local nazis burned down the synagogue and vandalized many properties that belonged to Jews. By May 1939, the number of Jews in Wołczyn dropped to 28.

The Wołczyn’s census of November 19, 1942 recorded the presence of 7 Jews in the town. Their fate is unknown.

The Description

The Jewish cemetery in Wołczyn was functioning already in September 1833. It is located north-east of the town centre, on the road to Byczyna, the present-day Byczyńska Street, right on the border with the village of Brzezinki. Previously, the deceased from that area were most likely buried in the cemetery in Krasków. The necropolis was established on a plot of land in the shape of a triangle with an area of approximately 0.15 ha, purchased by the  local Jewish community only in May 1837. The burial field, in a shape similar to a rectangle, originally occupied only part of the plot and was surrounded by a wooden fence.

Due to the lack of death certificates of the Jewish population of the city of Wołczyn from the first decades of the nineteenth century, it is impossible to determine the first person buried there. The oldest identified tombstone is located on the grave of a man with unknown secular personal details, with Hebrew names - Jaakow Josef, who died on 14 September 1833. Apart from the Jews living in the town, the cemetery was also used by those from the surrounding villages, including Krzywiczyn, Ligota Wołczyńska, Świniary Małe, Świniary Wielkie, Szymonków, Wierzbica Dolna or Wierzbica Górna.

In 1866 - due to the fact that there was no space left - the north-western section of an agricultural plot with an area of 68 square rods was purchased from a gardener Christian Kregel from Brzezinki, as it was directly adjacent to the cemetery, from the eastern side. Thus, the area of the necropolis was extended to the final size of approximately 0.24 ha and a new fence was built around it. A rectangular funeral home was also built next to the road.

It is reasonable to assume that at least 100 people were buried in the cemetery, and the last of them was Zerline Sallis (née Jonas), who died on 30 March 1942 at the age of 83.

On 4 July 1939, the necropolis became the property of the Association of Jews in Germany (German: Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland), which, in that area, was represented by a local office in Gliwice. By March 1940, the funeral home was demolished and the cemetery was cleaned up - the works were performed by a masonry master and carpenter Alfred Runkel from Wołczyn. In the early spring of the same year, some of the fence slats got damaged and they were repaired at the cost of DEM 5. Other than that, no further damage was noticed by June. On 10 June 1943, the site was seized by the Gestapo and placed under the administration of the district tax office. The cemetery survived in relatively good condition until 1945.

After the end of the Second World War, the cemetery, left unattended, gradually deteriorated. In 1984, probably on the foundations of the original fence, a new one was built in the form of spans - openwork concrete slabs connected with concrete posts, with a metal gate and wicket gate between brick, plastered pillars. In 2004, the cemetery was cleaned up and a fence was built around it, similar to the original one.

On 1 December 2008, a ceremonial unveiling of a plaque commemorating the inhabitants of Wołczyn and the surrounding area resting in the cemetery took place. The plaque was funded by the association of former residents of Kluczbork, in response to the initiative of Ulrich Rathay. 33 upright tombstones have survived until today.

Author of the note: Sławomir Pastuszka

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