After the Second Partition of Poland (1793), it became part of Prussia. It was returned to Poland in 1945.

The history of Jews in Bledzew is poorly recognised. It was a small community without much economic significance. The town, owned by the Cistercians, received the de non tolerandis Iudaeis privilege (no permission for Jewish settlement in the area). The Prussian authorities abolished this privilege after the Second Partition of Poland. Conditions for Jewish settlement in Bledzew were created by an edict of the Prussian king in 1793, ordering Jews to settle in towns.

The Jewish community in Bledzew was founded in 1797 by 12 families from Trzemeszno and 9 families from Goruńsk. Jews paid a tax of 3 thalers per person per year for permission to settle. Initially, they rented houses and premises. They settled in Gorzowska Street (Polish: ul. Gorzowska) (today Kościuszki Street (Polish: ul. Kościuszki)), Sulęcińska Street (Polish: ul. Sulęcińska) (today Szkolna Street (Polish: ul. Szkolna)), Klasztorna Street (Polish: ul. Klasztorna) (today Sportowa Street (Polish: ul. Sportowa)) and at the Market Square. In 1805, they bought their first property.

Although few in number, the community had a synagogue and a school built in the early 1830s, built on a plot of land at 13 Gorzowska Street (today 14 Kościuszki Street). It is known that the synagogue had 212 square metres of floor space, and that the entrance to it led through a side passage between the houses. In 1843, a mikveh was built on the same plot of land.

Until the middle of the 19th century, the number of Jews from Bledzewo increased steadily. In 1843, the community reached its peak population of 122. After 1850, there was a wave of emigration to large German cities. In 1884, the community was dissolved. The new synagogue was sold in 1923; it was demolished soon after the purchase.

After World War I, only two Jewish families lived in Bledzew, bearing the surnames Gurau and Dosmar. The Dosmar family owned a house at 64 Klasztorna Street (today, 17 Sportowa Street). In 1910. David Dosmar sold the house to the butcher Münchberg, retaining the right to live on the first floor until his death. The Gurau family owned a house at 14 Klasztorna Street (today, 14 Sportowa Street). It was involved in the grain trade, later also in colonial goods. The last head of the family was Siegfried Gurau. The local farmers respected him as a business partner and friend.

After Hitler took over power, the Gurau family felt the growing hostile atmosphere more and more acutely. This took its toll on Siegfried Gurau's business, which was no longer profitable by the mid-1930s. During the Kristallnacht (9 November 1938 - 10 November 1938), he was arrested and then imprisoned in the local detention centre at Nowa Street (Polish: ul. Nowa), where he contracted pneumonia. He died in the hospital of the Order of St. John in Skwierzyna on 4 January 1939. His funeral was the last Jewish burial in Bledzew.

The Description

The Jewish cemetery in Bledzew is located in the woods, on Wodna Street (Polish: ul. Wodna), about 1.2 km from the buildings, near the ruins of the former Hintermühle mill. It occupies approximately 0.1 hectares with dimensions of 20 x 50 m. Founded at the end of the 18th century, it survived World War II. It was devastated after the war. The iron cemetery gate was dismantled and lost. The cemetery wall was also demolished, and the bricks were used to build the local fire station. The granite and marble tombstones have been stolen and, after being polished, reused in modern cemeteries. The rest, made of sandstone, were used as a building material and paving roads. A 2018 inspection of the cemetery revealed 25 matzevot, 50 fragments of matzevot and 1 grave. The sandstone matzevot that survived has inscriptions in Hebrew and German. The oldest gravestone dates back to 1826. The tree stand is 70% preserved - 10 200-year-old oaks, three acacias and 19 pines. The cemetery has clear boundaries and a clear quater-alley layout.

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