They settled in one of the suburban colonies. This area was incorporated into the city in 1840 as a "new fifth district". Regardless of the changes in administrative boundaries that took place during the 19th century, in 1800, the Jews living in the suburban colony began to settle in Nowe. In 1812, 48 Jewish families lived in the suburbs. In 1831, there were already 293 Jewish families (12% of the total population), in 1849 - 313, in 1868 - 470 (10,2%). The community then began to decline: in 1885 - 270 (5.7%), in 1895 - 213 (4.2%), in 1905 - 167 (3.2%), in 1910 - 141. (2,7%).

In the first half of the 19th century, a Jewish community was formed. It covered only the town limits. It had a cemetery and a synagogue. The building was put into service in 1847. In the mid-1930s, it required a major renovation, which was carried out by 1938. In 1939, its value was estimated at 6,000 zlotys, and the community's movable property at that time amounted to 1,000 zlotys.

The incorporation of Nowe brought significant changes in the reborn Polish state. In 1921, due to numerous departures, there were only 31 Jews (0.8%). Nevertheless, their population began to rise: in 1927 - 67, in 1934 - 81, in 1937 - 84. These changes were the settlement of Jews from various parts of the Polish lands after 1920. In 1927, there were only 15 local, autochthonous German Jews in Nowe (e.g. Meyer, Baumann, Hermann and Ellian families) and 52 incoming Jews. 50 people came from voivodeships of Łódź, Lublin and Kielce. There were various cultural, linguistic, religious and economic frictions between the two groups. These disputes were transferred to the commune in Świecie nad Wisłą, as in 1932 the commune in Nowem was abolished and then incorporated into Świecie together with the commune in Gniew. In the 1930s, in Nowe lived families of the following Jews: Motel Berkin, Motel Blaufuks, Mendel Dajch, Izydor Hermann, Wolf Gertter, Samuel Meyer, Mojżesz Rottermann, Markus Siebros, Dawid Stopnicki, M.G. Szafier, Hersz Terkeltaub, Dawid Wajcfeld, Lejzor Wajcfeld, Juliusz Wertzuer, Hersz Widawski, Hirsz Piotrowski.

As of 1 July 1938, the employment of Mojżesz Rotterman, a butcher, was discontinued in Nowe. After his release, the services of Szymon Rogoziński, a shochet and cantor from Świecie, were used. No rabbi or other community officials were employed either. The services of the rabbi from Grudziądz were used on an ad hoc basis, following a model developed in Prussian times. In the interwar period, Abraham Bromberg was the rabbi of Grudziądz.

After the outbreak of war in 1939, most of the Jews of Nowe fled before the Germans entered the town. Those who remained were arrested and imprisoned in the local prison. They were killed in the forests near Mniszek and Grupa.

The Description

The Jewish cemetery in Nowe was established on a high scarp on the edge of the Vistula river valley at 20 Garbuzy Street (Polish: ul. Garbuzy 20) (plot 1156/1; possibly also plots 1155/2 and 1155/3). Its origins probably date back to the early 1820s, and it covered an area of between 0.23 and 1 hectare (different data). It had three plots, separated by preserved lime and ash avenues. There was also a pre-burial house - this is the surviving building at 18 Garbuzy Street (Polish: ul. Garbuzy 18), now a residential one. The cemetery's value in 1939 was estimated at 600 zloty.

The Germans destroyed the cemetery during the occupation in World War II. In 1940, the tombstones were used to pave the road towards Gdansk. Remains were visible for a number of years after the war. As late as 1998, there were still two inscriptions on the matzevot in Hebrew and German (one by the marriage of Samuel and Sophia Jachman) and a concrete post with the date "1938". The cemetery area is currently farmed, with only a small section of about 0.02 ha left in a feral form at the top of the hill.

Author of the note: Tomasz Kawski

References

• Golon M., Gmina Wyznaniowa Żydowska w Świeciu nad Wisłą w latach 1920– 1939, [in:] Gminy Wyznaniowe Żydowskie w województwie pomorskim w okresie międzywojennym, Toruń 1995, pp.
• Salinger G., Zur Erinnerung und zum Gedenken. Die einstigen jüdischen Gemeinden Westpreußens, New York 2009, Bd. 3, p. 670.
• Wołos W., Cmentarze żydowskie w województwie pomorskim w latach 1920– 1939, [in:] Gminy Wyznaniowe Żydowskie w województwie pomorskim w okresie międzywojennym, Toruń 1995, pp.

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