|
|
A Biographical Guide to the Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery
On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the mass transportation of
Częstochowa Jews to the Treblinka extermination camp, a
biographical guide to the Jewish Cemetery of Częstochowa will be published at the
end of September 2007 by the History of Częstochowa
Documentation Centre of the Museum Of Częstochowa.
The book will contain a register of identified tombstones, short
footnotes about the deceased and detailed biographies of more notable people buried in this
necropolis. War-graves will be specifically highlighted. The guide will also contain
information about graves where, today, tombstones no longer exist or where the engraving
on existing tombstones has completely eroded.
This book is the first attempt at such a study. The authors
have used both library and archival sources. They have collected data from both Polish and
Jewish periodicals as well as works in Polish, German and Yiddish.
They also took advantage of a Polish inventory carried out in 1970-1975. At that time, every
gravestone received its own number, however that inventory only listed the Polish-language
inscriptions. In 1997, coordinated by Benjamin Yaari, a group of young Israelis, together with
Martyna Strachel, Ada Holzman, Uri ben Zion and Michael Chen, listed over 2,000 monuments.
Unfortunately, this work was incomplete, contained many errors and
inaccurately recorded many names and dates. The authors of this guide have also
utilized the results of both inventories.
Due to time constraints and the difficult or impossible access to many graves, the authors'
research within the cemetery itself was limited. It did allow them,
however, to correct and supplement the existing inventories.
This is the first attempt at work on this topic, because published material is limited and, not
infrequently, in a "raw" state. The guide will, however, will be continued in the form of a
second edition or even a second part - depending upon how it is
received by its readers and upon whether there is a demand for further work.
For this reason, we are asking for information to be sent to us
about people buried in the Jewish Cemetery of Częstochowa, as well as photographs of
both the people and also of their tombstones (if available). We also request information
about the history of the cemetery itself.
OUR ADDRESS:
Muzeum Częstochowskie
Ośrodek Dokumentacji Dzieów Częstochowy
al. NMP 45a
42-200 Częstochowa
email: oddc@tlen.pl
THE BOOK HAS TWO AUTHORS:
Dr.Julius Sętkowski is an historian, having studied the
1905 Revolution. He is the author of monographs about the fighting-organizations of the Polish
Socialist Party in the Częstochowa district and is also the author of two guides on the
Częstochowa Catholic Cemeteries on Kula Street (including the sections of other faiths
contained therein and the Evangelical Church section in Roch Street). He works at the Museum
of Częstochowa, is Director of the History of Częstochowa Documentation Centre and
heads the editorial team which is preparing the expansive "Encyclopaedia of Częstochowa"
(which will appear in the autumn of 2010 the year).
Wiesław Paszkowski was on the team to that prepared both
the album "The Jews of Częstochowa - Coexistence, Holocaust, Memory" and the exhibition
"The Jews of Częstochowa". He is the author of articles on the subject history of Jewish
education in Poland and on the state of research into the extermination of the Częstochowa
Jews. He works at the Museum of Częstochowa.
|
|
|
