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Post by Bonobo on Feb 5, 2017 1:06:29 GMT 1
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Cemetery,_Warsaw
The Warsaw Jewish Cemetery is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe and in the world. Located on Warsaw's Okopowa Street and abutting the Powązki Cemetery at 52°14′51″N 20°58′29″E, the Jewish necropolis was established in 1806 and occupies 33 hectares (83 acres) of land. The cemetery contains over 250,000 marked graves[1], as well as mass graves of victims of the Warsaw Ghetto. Many of these graves and crypts are overgrown, having been abandoned after the German invasion of Poland and subsequent Holocaust. Although the cemetery was closed down during World War II, after the war it was reopened and a small portion of it remains active, serving Warsaw's small existing Jewish population.
As the cemetery was established to replace many smaller cemeteries closer to the city centre, it was designed to serve all Jewish communities of Warsaw, regardless of their affiliation. Because of that it is subdivided into several districts dubbed quarters (kwatery), historically reserved for various groups. Among them are three Orthodox (for men, women and one for holy scriptures), Reform Judaism, children, military and Ghetto Uprising victims.
The cemetery, which has become a dense forest in the post-war period, is filled with monuments to Jewish communists, orthodox rabbis, and everyone in between. Many of the markers are simple, others are elaborately carved with Art nouveau angels drooping mournfully over a tomb or with large, elaborate bas relief panoramas of a somewhat imaginary medieval Warsaw. Large mausoleums appear in styles ranging from Egyptian revival to Art deco.                                                tbc
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Post by pjotr on Feb 5, 2017 1:40:38 GMT 1
How did it survive the war and communism? It amazes me that the cemetery survived the Nazi occupation, since the nazi's loved to destroy or dismantle Synagogues, Jewish buildings and everything connected to judaism. There aim was to eradicate the jews and erase all the elements which reminded of their presence in Europe from European cities, towns, villages and hamlets. They managed to do so in many parts of Europe. Therefor it surprises me that this jewish cemetery survived the destruction of Warsaw after the Ghetto Uprising (1943) and the Warsaw Uprising (1944) after which the Germans systematically started to destroy the Warsaw city center.
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 5, 2017 2:08:19 GMT 1
How did it survive the war and communism? It amazes me that the cemetery survived the Nazi occupation, since the nazi's loved to destroy or dismantle Synagogues, Jewish buildings and everything connected to judaism. There aim was to eradicate the jews and erase all the elements which reminded of their presence in Europe from European cities, towns, villages and hamlets. They managed to do so in many parts of Europe. Therefor it surprises me that this jewish cemetery survived the destruction of Warsaw after the Ghetto Uprising (1943) and the Warsaw Uprising (1944) after which the Germans systematically started to destroy the Warsaw city center. Yes, that`s interesting. Germans only blew up some buildings in the cemetery but didn`t destroy the tombs and plaques. Possible explanation is that the cemetery was adjacent to the Ghetto so Germans prefered to avoid unnecessary troubles connected with bulldozing the cemetery, like they did in other places. Besides, they made some executions in the cemetery. |
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Post by pjotr on May 25, 2017 11:54:16 GMT 1
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Post by pjotr on May 25, 2017 12:19:47 GMT 1
How did it survive the war and communism? It amazes me that the cemetery survived the Nazi occupation, since the nazi's loved to destroy or dismantle Synagogues, Jewish buildings and everything connected to judaism. There aim was to eradicate the jews and erase all the elements which reminded of their presence in Europe from European cities, towns, villages and hamlets. They managed to do so in many parts of Europe. Therefor it surprises me that this jewish cemetery survived the destruction of Warsaw after the Ghetto Uprising (1943) and the Warsaw Uprising (1944) after which the Germans systematically started to destroy the Warsaw city center. Yes, that`s interesting. Germans only blew up some buildings in the cemetery but didn`t destroy the tombs and plaques. Possible explanation is that the cemetery was adjacent to the Ghetto so Germans prefered to avoid unnecessary troubles connected with bulldozing the cemetery, like they did in other places. Besides, they made some executions in the cemetery. In other cases the Germans were less vulnerable with Jewish homes, synagogues, cemeteries and business. They destroyed, plundered, burned and blew up a lot of Jewish houses, synagogues and community centers in Europe.  warsze.polin.pl/en/przeszlosc/terazniejszosc/teraz-jan-jagielski ( Please see the beautiful video in this URL/link) Funeral of the hero of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising Marek Edelman in the Warsaw Jewish cemeteryAlso the Polish army honoured this Polish Jewish hero at the Polish cemetery |
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 26, 2017 15:39:45 GMT 1
Polish gov't supports Jewish cemetery conservation
23.12.2017 10:02
The Polish government has donated PLN 100 million (USD 28 million) to restore the Warsaw Jewish Cemetery, one of the largest such sites in Europe.
From left to right: Anna Chipczyńska (President of the Warsaw Jewish Community), Michael Schudrich (Chief Rabbi of Poland), Piotr Gliński (Poland's culture minister), Michał Laszczkowski (President of the National Heritage Foundation) at a press conference on a PLN 100 milion donation to preserve the Warsaw Jewish Cemetery on Friday. Photo: PAP/LesFrom left to right: Anna Chipczyńska (President of the Warsaw Jewish Community), Michael Schudrich (Chief Rabbi of Poland), Piotr Gliński (Poland's culture minister), Michał Laszczkowski (President of the National Heritage Foundation) at a press conference on a PLN 100 milion donation to preserve the Warsaw Jewish Cemetery on Friday. Photo: PAP/Les
The government has transferred the funds to Poland’s Cultural Heritage Foundation, which will oversee the restoration process in cooperation with the Warsaw Jewish Community.
A special agreement on the donation was signed on Friday by Poland’s deputy prime minister and culture minister Piotr Gliński and head of the Cultural Heritage Foundation, Michał Laszczkowski.
At a Friday conference Gliński said: "This area of over 33 hectares where Polish Jews are buried is part of the Polish cultural and national heritage."
Laszczkowski stressed that hundreds of the cemetery's tombstones are dilapidated.
According to Anna Chipczyńska, the president of the Jewish Community in Warsaw, the donation "has been the most important gesture of the Polish state aimed at protecting the Jewish material heritage."
Michael Schudrich, the Chief Rabbi of Poland, said that it is about "honoring the dead, which is very important in our culture."
Warsaw's Okopowa Jewish Cemetery currrently houses over 250,000 graves.
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