In 2021, the Coalition of Guardians of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland coordinated a nationwide initiative aiming at restoring nearly 100 Jewish cemeteries across the country. The final result was a success as over 10,000 volunteers (aged from four years old to ninety) participated in the campaign. 

Before World War II, the Jewish community of Poland was the largest of any other European country. It is estimated that over three million Jews lived on Polish soil before the brutal German invasion of 1939. However, the absolute majority of them were killed until 1945 by the German occupant in shootings and deportations to death camps, among others. 

Today, the estimated number of Jews living in Poland does not exceed 25,000. Even though many Jewish cemeteries and synagogues have been abandoned, the Jewish cultural heritage can still be observed, especially in the region of Silesia. 

Today, the maintenance of the numerous Jewish sites relies mostly on local communities and volunteers. That is why the Coalition of Guardians of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland decided to coordinate several small-scale actions in order to perpetuate the memory of the fallen. 

There are some 800 Jewish cemeteries in Poland today, compared to around 1,200 such sites in Poland’s modern-day territory before 1939. Many of them were destroyed during the war or liquidated by the later established communist authorities.

Over a dozen mayors have organised clean-ups in their cities, with four of them taking place in Katowice, the Silesian capital. The coalition also helps caregivers obtain grants and donations, which came to a total of 300,000 zlotys (55,000 GBP) last year. 

The recently established coalition is coordinated by the Cultural Heritage Foundation, an NGO that launched a mobile app allowing people to document abandoned cemeteries they encounter in order to build a database of forgotten burial grounds.

Similar efforts have been undertaken in Warsaw, on Okopowa street, where Poland’s second-largest Jewish cemetery is located. As many as 27 events employing 600 volunteers took place there last to clear soil and leaves from tombstones.

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen

Cover photo: Unsplash/British Poles