Recording Cultural Genocide and Killing Sites in Jewish Cemeteries
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Category: Matzevot

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    Jewish Cemeteries: Desecration and Cultural Genocide

    When Jewish cemeteries are vandalised and destroyed, it is an attack at the very heart of Jewish communities.

    Jewish Cemeteries: Desecration and Cultural Genocide
  • Oświęcim

    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.

    Oświęcim: Finding Existing Graves
  • Piaski

    Piaski: New Jewish Cemetery

    The new cemetery in Piaski contains evidence of severe damage to matzevot, executions and mass graves.

    Piaski: New Jewish Cemetery
  • Places

    Wąwolnica: Destruction of the Jewish Cemetery

    Desecrated by the Nazis and hidden under dense vegetation, Wąwolnica's Jewish cemetery still contains some reminders of pre-war Jewish life in the town.

    Wąwolnica: Destruction of the Jewish Cemetery
  • Places

    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
  • Places

    Wąwolnica: From Safe Haven to Killing Site

    When Jews from surrounding areas faced persecution many fled to Wąwolnica. However, this supposed safe haven witnessed cultural genocide and mass murder.

    Wąwolnica: From Safe Haven to Killing Site
  • Piaski

    Piaski: Social Action

    Volunteers from across Poland and around the world came together to clean Piaski's cemeteries

    Piaski: Social Action
  • Events

    Oświęcim: Social Action

    A diverse group worked to clear and restore the cemetery with a dedication to remembering the past and building bridges for the future.

    Oświęcim: Social Action
  • Piaski

    Piaski: Vandalism, Misuse and Neglect in the Present

    The Jewish cemeteries in Piaski were desecrated during WWII and used as killing sites. But vandalism, misuse and neglect still continues today

    Piaski: Vandalism, Misuse and Neglect in the Present
  • Oświęcim

    Oświęcim: Destruction of the Cemetery

    As part of the attack on Jewish property, the Jewish cemetery in Oświęcim was desecrated.

    Oświęcim: Destruction of the Cemetery
  • Oświęcim

    Oświęcim: Camp Judenfreidhof

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

    Oświęcim: Camp Judenfreidhof

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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