Recording Cultural Genocide and Killing Sites in Jewish Cemeteries
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Cultural GenocideCultureSteven Reece

“Poland has a huge hole in it”

Steven D. Reece, Founder and CEO of The Matzevah Foundation, discusses the impact that the destruction of the Jewish community in Poland had one the nation.

Authored by Steven D. Reece

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The Loss of Jewish Culture
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'“Poland has a huge hole in it”' Authored by Steven D. Reece

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Other Stories:

  • Places

    Wąwolnica: Executions and Violence

    The Jewish cemetery in Wąwolnica became a killing site when men from the town were shot and buried there.

    Wąwolnica: Executions and Violence
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    Oświęcim was one of the first towns in Poland to be invaded by the German army after the outbreak of World War II.

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    Oświęcim: Finding Existing Graves

    Having mapped the locations of the matzevot within the cemetery, GPR was used in an attempt to relocate the original graves that they used to mark.

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    Wąwolnica: Social Action

    Wąwolnica's Jewish cemetery was neglected and overgrown. However, thanks to dedicated volunteers and the support of the local government, it is finally being restored and cared for.

    Wąwolnica: Social Action
  • Oświęcim

    Oświęcim: Camp Judenfreidhof

    In Oświęcim Jewish cemetery, the Nazis further desecrated a sacred site by turning it into a camp.

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  • Films

    “Poland has a huge hole in it”

    Steven D. Reece, Founder and CEO of The Matzevah Foundation, discusses the impact that the destruction of the Jewish community in Poland had one the nation.

    “Poland has a huge hole in it”
View all stories

Recording Cultural Genocide and Killing Sites in Jewish Cemeteries:

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This project was funded by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) under Grant No. 2016-597

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Origins:

Before the Holocaust, Jewish cemeteries were at the heart of Jewish communities, as places where history was preserved and remembered. During the Holocaust, the Nazis saw them as physical and symbolic expressions of Jewish culture. In an attempt to erase all traces of Jewish people, tombstones were toppled, graves desecrated, bones removed, and funerary houses looted. Not content with inflicting physical damage, the Nazis used cemeteries as execution sites, with mass graves excavated for (and sometimes by) those killed.

Goals:

This project will raise awareness of the causes and consequences of cultural and physical genocide within Jewish cemeteries, directly tackling racism, xenophobia and hostility in the present. It will mark the beginning of a planned long-term collaboration between the project partners as part of a commitment to researching these important, yet under-examined, aspects of Holocaust history.

Partners and supporters:
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Staffordshire University Centre of Archaeology The Matzevah Foundation Fundacja Zapomniane Rohatyn Jewish Heritage
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