Previously, they had only been allowed to stay in the Torzym region temporarily. Their presence was related to cattle trade, of which Torzym was a significant centre (every year three large cattle fairs and several smaller markets were held). It is known that after the adoption of the 1671 edict, seven Jewish families settled in Neumark. The first Jews to settle in Torzym itself arrived in the town in 1690.

Sources from 1777 mention four Jews living in Torzym. They were family heads, so the actual number of followers of Judaism in the town was certainly greater. In 1804, five Jews lived in Torzym, and 104 in the entire Torzym region. Due to their relatively small number, no synagogue community was established in the town. The ministerial report from 1845 informs that there only a prayer room (German: Betstube) was active in Torzym. Its location is unknown.

A larger number of Jews presumably appeared in the town after 1869, when Torzym became a stop on the newly opened railway line from Frankfurt an der Oder to Poznań. In the second half of the 19th century, a Jewish school and a kosher slaughterhouse existed in the town, both run by melamed and shohet Abraham Bibo. In 1895, 24 Jews lived in Torzym, but by 1925 this number had fallen to mere 14. No information on the Jewish community after 1933 has survived. The few Jews still living in Torzym were probably deported to large cities and from there to ghettos and concentration camps in German-occupied Europe. In the years 1940–1942, a labour camp in Torzym for Jews from the Łódź ghetto operated in Torzym. Its prisoners worked on the construction of a motorway from Frankfurt an der Oder to Poznań. Some 150 to 300 prisoners were held in the camp throughout its operation.

The Description

The Jewish cemetery was established in the 19th century in the area commonly called the "Jewish Mountains" (German: Judenberge), north of the village centre. In order to reach the necropolis, you need to turn towards Sulęcin at the main intersection. After 600 meters, you pass an old Evangelical cemetery and a chapel, now a Greek Catholic one, on the right. There, next to plot no. 8 at 13 Sulęcińska Street, you need to turn left onto a small path and walk ca. 200 meters. The cemetery is located in the forest on the right. Its area is ca. 500 m2.

The Jewish cemetery in Torzym was destroyed after 1945. The foundations of the funeral home and the fence are still visible. Three standing matzevot dating back to 1861, 1871, and 1872 have survived, as well as seven complete overturned matzevot and six broken slabs. There are also numerous tombstone bases and one grave framing. One of the matzeva fragments bears a legible date of burial: 12 December 1939. In the early 2010s, the cemetery was maintained for several years by students from the local school as part of the “Przywrócić Pamięć" (“To Bring Memory Back”) project.

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