Jews came here from the nearby settlement of Bolszewo, where they had their own school and cemetery in 1766. They settled In Wejherowo itself (German. Neustadt) only after 1812. In 1812-1813, 11 families lived here. The community grew slowly during the 19th century, reaching its peak size at the end of the third quarter of the century. In 1828, it counted 57 people (4% of the total population), in 1840 - 124 (6.3%), in 1871 - 168 (4.1%), in 1885 - 165 (3.1%), in 1895 - 156 (2.6%), and in 1910 - 142 (1.8%).

A separate Jewish community in Wejherowo was established ca. 1854. Within its boundaries were villages from Wejherowo County, including Gdynia and Sopot (until 1913). Jews settling in Wejherowo lived in what are now Wałowa, Pucka and Abrahama streets. In the 1860s, on the Pucka street (Putzigerstraße, now Trautmana street), a construction of synagogue was completed. The building stood in the back of the plot and was accessed by a avenue flanked by chestnut trees, some of which are still preserved today. The land for the synagogue was purchased back in 1839, and the loan taken out for this purpose has reportedly been repaid until 1919. Between the wars, the building was valued at 20,000 złotys. The synagogue was devastated in 1939 and later demolished by the Germans.

In the interwar period, when Wejherowo became a part of Poland, the first local Jews moved to Germany, followed by an influx of migrants from Polish lands in their place. In 1921, 62 Jews lived in the town (0.7% of the total population), in 1923 - 40, in 1928 - 70, in 1934 - 138, and in 1939 - as many as 258 (1.6%). At that time, the municipality covered the entire Wejherowo district at that time, it also included individual Jews living in Chylonia (e.g. in 1923 there were 5 of them), Mały Kack (5), Osowa (3), and Orle (1).

In 1926, a group of about a dozen Jews from the Eastern Borderlands settled there. In 1932, the Jewish communities in Puck, Wejherowo, Kartuzy and Kościerzyna were merged to form one Jewish Religious Community in Kartuzy. The location of its headquarters was most likely decided by the more favourable location of Kartuzy, rather than by its importance and population, which spoke in favour of Wejherowo. This was evident in the composition of the community boards, in which the Jews of Wejherowo played a significant role (e.g.: Brunon Rosenthal, Luzer Blibaum, Wolf Aleksandrowicz, Moryc Ickowicz, Abraham Rotapel, Maks Piese).

After the outbreak of war in 1939, some Jews from Wejherowo and the Maritime district tried to leave, but the speed with which the German army operated meant that they found themselves in conquered territory. Gradually, they began to be isolated. The first wave of arrests by the Germans took place between 12 and 15 September. The detainees were taken to a makeshift camp in Gdynia, then to Nowy Port and from there to Stutthof. A group from Gdynia was sent to the latter on 14 September 1939; it included 11 Jews from Wejherowo. Some of the families of those arrested were most probably murdered by the Germans in 1939 in Piaśnica (those killed included e.g. Irma and Herbert Israel and David Riese with his wife and two children). 95 people from Wejherowo and surrounding area were deported to the General Government on 26 October.

Tomasz Kawski 

References

  • Dangendorf E., Hoja A., Zollhauser S., Wejherowo,[in:] Śladami żydowskimi po Kaszubach. Przewodnik, Gdańsk – Lübeck – München 2010;
  • Drywa D., Zagłada Żydów w obozie koncentracyjnym Stutthof(wrzesień 1939 – maj 1945), Gdańsk 2001;
  • Historia Wejherowa, ed. J. Borzyszkowski, Wejherowo 1998;
  • Rezmer W., Gmina Wyznaniowa Żydowska Okręgu Kartuskiego w latach 1920-1939, [in:] Gminy Wyznaniowe Żydowskie w województwie pomorskim w okresie międzywojennym (1920-1939), Toruń 1995;
  • Salinger G., Zur Erinnerung und zum Gedenken. Die einstigen jüdischen Gemeinden Westpreußens, Bd. 1, New York 2009, pp. 140-152;
  • Wołos M., Cmentarze żydowskie w województwie pomorskim w latach 1920-1939 , [in:] Gminy Wyznaniowe Żydowskie w województwie pomorskim w okresie międzywojennym (1920-1939), Toruń 1995, pp. 215-216.

 

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