Bartenstein

Summary: Although Jews were officially permitted to live in Bartenstein (present-day Bartoszyce, Poland) in the early 1700s, it was not until the early 1800s that a Jewish community was founded there, after which, in 1820, a cemetery was consecrated on Rastenburger Strasse. Bartenstein’s synagogue, established on the corner of Muhlenweg and Synagogenstrasse in 1857, also served the Jews of nearby Friedland. In 1933, as a direct result of the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses, most small Jewish-owned businesses were forced to close. One year later, the largest Jewish-owned business in Bartenstein was also forced to shut down. On Pogrom Night, the Bartenstein synagogue was set on fire. Members of the fire department protected the neighboring homes as the synagogue burned down. Not much is known about the fate of those Jews who remained in Bartenstein after 1940.

Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel; Sources: EJL, LJG