Alternate names: Elbląg [Pol], Elbing [Ger], Elbinga [Lith], Elblong, El'blëng. 54°10' N, 19°23' E, 32 miles ESE of Gdańsk (Danzig), 59 miles SW of Kaliningrad (Königsberg). 1905 Jewish population: 445. Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), II, p. 342: "Elbląg". . This city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants in 2006 has been the capital of Elbląg County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Previously the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship (1975-1998) and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship (1945-1975), the city is a port on the Elbląg River to Vistula Lagoon with access to the Baltic Sea via the Russian-controlled Strait of Baltiysk. The Nazi Party enjoyed popular support in the town. Three subcamps of Stutthof Concentration Camp were located nearby: Elbing, Elbing (Org. Todt), and Elbing (Schinau). A large number of the German inhabitants fled before the Soviet Red Army approached the city with a siege in February 1945 that destroyed 65% of the city's infrastructure including the historical city center. The first Jews settled in 1783. In 1812, 33 Jewish families lived here and in 1880, 549 Jews. The cemetery was established in 1812 and the synagogue in 1824. In 1844, Jews were on the city council. One of the largest companies in eastern Germany, Loeser & Wolff cigars, was founded by a Jew in 1874 and employed about 4,000 workers in 1926. The conomy around 1900 encouraged many to emigrate as Jews from surrounding villages moved into the town. In 1905, 445 Jew lived in Elblag. By 1925, the number was 434 and in the early 1930s, 367, and in 1936, 207. Most fled until only 53 remained in May 1939 and seven in 1942. [April 2009]
"...in the northern section of Westpreussen [the then Prussian province, called West Prussia in English] and ... some 50 km. ESE of then Danzig, now Gdansk--all in present-day Poland. As part of Prussia since about 1780, it had a Jewish population living among Polish Catholics and German Evanglical Lutherans. The Yiddish-speaking Jews, formerly part of the Polish Kingdom, rapidly adopted German language and customs, as did their brethren throughout the Prussian-annexed Westpreussen and Posen provinces." Source: Jim Bennett of Haifa at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . [23 July 2001 on JewishGen Digest]
CEMETERY: photos. Located at the junction of ul. Brzeskiej i ul. Brest and ul. Browarnej. In 2001, a small monument was errected with the inscription: "Elbląg Jewish memorial. Old Jewish Cemetery 1812-1945." One of the members Marienburg Forum describes post-war fate of the cemetery as: "The cemetery - as the majority of Jewish cemeteries - survived the war partially damaged. In 1965-70 on the east side of the cemetery, the company building of HYDROSTER was erected and to this day remains a shop with parts for boats and engines. The concrete shop floor built over the gravestone began to collapse in 1990 due to the old gravestones that were removed." Their fate is unknown.[April 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000760
Cemetery location: ul. Browarna. 1992 town population: 25,000-100,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Urzad Miasta, ul. Lacznosci 2, Tel 25081.
- Regional: Urzad Wojewodzki, ul. Wojska Polskiego l, Tel 27001. Panstoowa Steizba Ochrony Zabytkow-Elblag, ul. Wojska Polskiego 1, Tel 24553
The first mention of Jews in the town was 1783. 1933 Jewish population was 367. The Orthodox and Progressive/Reform Jews cemetery was established in the beginning of the 19th century, after 1812. The isolated urban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. A broken masonry wall with no gate surrounds the cemetery. The approximate size is.40 ha and contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns property used for park. Properties adjacent are residential. Local residents visit rarely. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures or gravestones. No threats.
Wiktor Knercer 10-685 Olsztyn, ul. Barcza 33/16 Tel. 33-86-07 completed survey in 09/1992. Documentation: Mapa w skali 1:25000, 1910-1920, Statistischer Handbuch Fur die Provinz Ostpreuzen, Deutsches Stadtebuch . Knercer visited site in June 1992.