Source: Alon Goldman

During 13th-15th July 2026, as part of the Bennett and Robin Greenspan L’dor V’dor Legacy Program, a group of students from the United States came to help clean-up our Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery.

The group was led by Dr. Paul Radensky of the Jewish genealogical organization JewishGen, Dr. Dan Oren of the Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland, Rev. Dr. Steven Reece and Dr. Jerry Ann Carlsberg, in collaboration with the Association of Czestochowa Jews in Israel, the Fundacja Chrześcijańska Adullam and the Fundacja Pamięć i Odnowa w Częstochowie.

A major project for the entire group, which numbered eight students, four tour guides and two additional volunteers, was to transfer countless branches and trunks of felled trees, which had been cut down by students and volunteers earlier this year, to the wood-chipper which had been brought in to reduce the volume of vegetation accumulated in the cemetery.

Above: a Yizkor Book photograph of the tombstone which erected for the five victims of the 28th May 1919 pogrom in Częstochowa.

Under the long-distance remote guidance of Alon Goldman, from his home in Israel, and led by one of our archaeologically-minded students, the team took great care in meticulously sorting and removing the debris, which covered the mass grave near the cemetery entrance. 

Below (pic left): the location of the remains of the tombstone, which was found by our World Society Vice-President, Alon Goldman, in 2024.
Below (pic right): the borders of the grave after its surrounds were cleaned up by the students

Among these tasks was cleaning several tombstones,
including those of Chaim Dow Berisz Sztencel (1857-1934) and Michał Wolf Beserglik (1867-1930).

The students’ participation in the cleanup of the Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery has enabled them to better understand how to preserve Jewish life in Poland and become ambassadors for the preservation of Poland’s Jewish heritage

In order to better familiarize themselves with the history of Czestochowa Jews, the group visited the Częstochowa Museum of Jewish History, which was opened especially for them. There, they were guided by historian Wiesław Paszkowski.