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Webmaster's Note:
It gives me absolutely no pleasure in writing
much of what now appears on this page.
However, much that has been written in the
newspapers around the world is inaccurate and,
I believe that I have a duty, as being the first
to discover the desecration in our cemetery, to
tell our landsleit exactly the situation
and to keep you all as informed as possible.
Much has happened since the desecration was
discovered and I will endeavour to keep you
all informed about those developments, through
this page, as they happen.
Just one stupid, senseless act such as this desecration is
capable of so easily undoing all the good work of
so many, not the least of whom is Sigmund Rolat, in
promoting and encouraging dialogue among Jews and
Catholics in Poland and elsewhere.
This must NOT be allowed to happen - because, in
that situation, no one wins - ALL of us lose.
It is said that there is nothing so bad that
something good and positive cannot emerge from it.
In this case, the good that has emerged is that it has raised
the issue of the cemetery's ownership and future in a way that
demands that it be decided now - once and for all.
Only then can we ensure that our cemetery can be safeguarded and
preserved for us and for our future generations.
I remind you all that this cemetery belongs, not only to those
who still live in Częstochowa, but to all of us who
have our ancestors buried there.
This is sacred ground to us and we must ALL do what we can to
ensure its integrity.
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The page is being written in "diary" format.
As events happen, they will be added here,
with the latest events at the top of the page.
If this is your first visit to this page, please take the time to
first read
the Webmaster's Note that appears in the left-hand
column.
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Cleaning of Cemetery is Complete (23rd August 2007)
Halina Wasilewicz, Chair of the TSKZ in Częstochowa,
has reported that removal and cleaning of the spray-painted profanities and graffiti
from the tombstones in our cemetery has been completed.
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Photographs: Courtesy of the Częstochowa City Council
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The work was carried out by a professional cleaning firm which had been hired by the
Częstochowa City Council to do the cleaning without causing any damage to the
tombstones.
Our thanks must go to City President, Dr Tadeusz Wrona, Director Ireneusz Kozera and
the Częstochowa City Council for arranging the cleaning and also for covering the
costs involved.
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Professional Cleaning of Cemetery Begins (21st August 2007)
A firm of professional cleaners, hired by the Częstochowa City Council, has today
begun the work of removing the spray-painted profanities from tombstones in the
Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery.
Council officials decided that specialists were required so that the cleaning process,
itself, would not cause any permanent damage to the tombstones.
The delay was due to locating a cleaning firm with the skill and technology to perform
the work - that work commenced today and will be paid for by the Częstochowa City
Council.
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Meeting With Chief Rabbi of Poland (17th August 2007)
World Society Executive Committee members, Piotr Stasiak and Andrew
Rajcher, met today with Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Chief
Rabbi of Poland, in his office in Warsaw.
During the discussions, Rabbi Schudrich offered his full support and participation in
our endeavours to restore and preserve our cemetery and also gave some extremely useful
advice as to how best to achieve our goals.
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Ownership of the Cemetery to be Clarified (10th August 2007)
The Katowice Gmina currently has ownership or stewardship (no one seems exactly sure which)
over our cemetery. However, many other abandoned cemeteries are also in their perview and
they just do not have the resources to do anything positive with our cemetery.
For future funding to be obtained for all the works that are required to bring the cemetery
to a condition we would all like to see and, equally important, to maintain that condition,
the current ownership/stewardship situation cannot be allowed to continue.
There are numerous options to be considered among which are the possible establishment of a Gmina in
Częstochowa, involvement of the Lodz Gmina (which Rabbi Keller has offered) and, of
course, the involvement of our own World Society.
Andrew Rajcher has been advised that the Katowice Gmina will look favourably upon any
proposal that will ensure the future of our cemetery.
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Meeting With Senior City Official (8th August 2007)
Halina Wasilewicz (Chair of the Częstochowa TSKZ) and Andrew Rajcher (World Society
Executive Member) met this morning with a senior member of City President Dr Wrona's
staff during which we urgently requested help from the City in two main areas:
(1) that the City immediately take steps to improve the security of
the cemetery grounds
including increased police patrols, the installation of lights at the front and rear
entrances and to investigate the possiblity of installing monitored closed-circuit
television cameras at these entrances
(2) that the City assist us in formulating a plan to preserve
the cemetery grounds by:
(a) creating a list of works that need to be carried out
(b) prioritising and costing this list
(c) establishing a timetable for these works to be carried out once funds became
available.
The official stated that he would draw to the City President's immediate attention our request
for additional security and that he would call in the Commander of Police to the City Hall to
discuss this issue as a matter of urgency.
With the respect to formulating a plan, we were advised that he would recommend to the City President
that a Committee of Experts be convened to include people expert in the areas of environment
conservation, engineering, security and heritage preservation. This would also include members of the
local Jewish community and Professor Jerzy Mizgalski.
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Polish President Condemns the Desecration (8th August 2007)
In a letter to the Chair of the Częstochowa TSKZ, Halina Wasilewicz,
Polish President, Lech Kaczynski,
condemned the desecration of our
cemetery, calling it an act of hate against both Jews and Poles.
The President wrote that "this act of aggression is unusually shocking,
especially because the Częstochowa graveyard belongs to one of the
most impressive Jewish cemeteries in Poland".
President Kaczynski added that this "act of hate serves not only an act
of aggression against the place and respect for the dead, but against the
heritage of Częstochowa, against the common history of its Polish and
Jewish residents".
Chief Rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich,
said that the President's
letter sends an important message: "President Kaczynski has once again shown
clearly and swiftly that, while anti-Semitism does exist in Poland, as it
does tragically in other countries, in today's Poland such hatred will never
be tolerated".
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Meeting of Częstochowa Jewish Community (7th August 2007)
World Society Executive Member, Andrew Rajcher, met this evening with
members of the local Jewish community at the TSKZ
who advised that they were preparing a petition asking our World Society to:
(1) clarify the situation over the ownership of the cemetery
(2) act as patron to safeguard the cemetery's future
(3) establish a plan to safeguard and preserve the cemetery through:
(a) coming to a concrete arrangement with the City Council
(b) establishing, with the city, a plan to preserve the pathways and the graves
(c) establishing a full inventory of all graves in the cemetery
(d) costing and scheduling works to protect and preserve the cemetery
(e) providing personnel who will both guard and maintain the cemetery grounds
(4) assist in providing resources that will enable the cemetery to be protected and preserved.
This petition, which is still being signed, will be presented to our President, Sigmund Rolat, who is now aware of its existence.
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The Clean Up Begins (7th August 2007)
Students from three local high schools spontaneously interrrupted their school holidays
to begin the clean up of our cemetery along with the City President and the Chief Rabbi
of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich.
Many city officials plus a huge press presence were also present.
The City President, City Officials and Chief Rabbi literally rolled up their
sleeves and for about an hour began cleaning off some more of the graffiti.
During discussions at the cemetery that followed, Dr Wrona committed to the Chief Rabbi
that the City would clean off all the graffiti on ALL the graves, not just those on the
central area memorials - in fact, the city had already begun clearing a large area of the
cemetery which had again been overgrown with weeds.
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Meeting With City President (7th August 2007)
Halina Wasilewicz (Chair of the Częstochowa TSKZ) and
Andrew Rajcher (World Society Executive Member) personally delivered a
letter to the City President of Częstochowa,
Dr Tadeusz Wrona, expressing our shock at the desecration of graves in our
cemetery and our fear that one act of stupidity and vandalism such as this,
could undo all the efforts of not only Sigmund Rolat and our World Society,
but also that of Dr Wrona and the City of Częstochowa over the last decade -
efforts, not only to protect the Jewish heritage of this city, but also the promotion
of dialogue and understanding that has been built up over that decade between Jews
and Catholics in this city.
We concluded the letter with a request that the City President assist us in formulating
a concrete plan to safeguard and preserve the Jewish Cemetery of Częstochowa.
Dr Wrona, who interrupted a meeting to receive the letter, expressed his genuine
horror at what had happened and committed the city resources to assisting us.
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Police Investigation (6th August 2007)
The police were on-site collecting evidence and searching for
any clues which may identify those who committed the act.
The police Inspector stated and, from what we observed personally
we agree, that this act was not an organised act of deliberate
anti-semitism. It had all the hallmarks of a simple act of vandalism
and juvenile stupidity.
If this had been major anti-semitism, given the seclusion of the
cemetery grounds, it is believed that more physical damage would
have been done to the actual tombstones - not simply spraying them
with swastikas.
The City President ordered that clean-up
operations begin immediately the police have finished with their on-site
investigations.
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Discovery of Desecration (5th August 2007)
As Sigmund Rolat, Piotr Stasiak, Seweryn Szperling,
Romuald Dymski and Andrew Rajcher entered the cemetery early Sunday afternoon, we noticed
that a couple of tombstones had a swastika spray-painted on them in black.
As we walked into the central commemoration area, we discovered more and
more tombstones that had been painted similarly.
In total about 70-80 tombstones had been painted but, thankfully, only ONE
tombstone, plus the main entrance gate, seem to have been physically damaged.
The painting was not severe - what was used seems to be the standard spray can
used by graffiti vandals.
Upon discovering the damage, we immediately rang Irenuesz Kozera (a Director
from the Częstochowa City Council), who has been a strong supporter of
preserving Jewish heritage here - and told him what had happened. He, in turn,
alerted the Straz Miejska (Council officers) who immediately went to inspect
what had happened. They, in turn, alerted the police who began an immediate
investigation.
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