Latest News

Holocaust Remembrance Day was commemorated in Częstochowa with the laying of wreathes and the lighting of candles at the monument on Plac Bohaterów Getta.

The exhibition, “Samuel Willenberg – a Hero of Two Nations”, opened in Częstochowa’s Town Hall and is sponsored by the Częstochowa Museum and the Częstochowa TSKŻ.

Prof. Jerzy Mizgalski and our Webmaster, Andrew Rajcher, visited the Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery. It has been a long time since so much of our cemetery has been so accessible.

Around seventy first, second and third generations attended the Annual Memorial Meeting of the Association of Częstochowa Jews in Israel, held on 10th November 2022 in Tel Aviv.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the deportations of Częstochowa Jews, an emotional ceremony was held on the square of the Częstochowa Jews memorial monument.

World Society President, Sigmund Rolat, has been honoured with the inaugural and 2022 Bronisław Huberman European Award, presented to him by the Częstochowa Philharmonic.

In the"Czenstochower Yizkerbuch", the text and iconography become an instrument of eternal remembrance, executed in watercolour, pastel, crayon, magic marker, pencil, and pen and ink.

On an almost annual basis, our World Society Vice-President, Alon Goldman, has organised and led a clean-up of the Częstochowa Jewish cemetery. In 2022, the work continues!

The unveiling ceremony, at the Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery, of the rebuilt tombstone on the mass grave of the victims of “Operation Ostbahn” which took place on 23rd April 1943.

Ceremonies commemorating the 79th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising were held in Częstochowa on Samuel Willenberg Square at the memorial monument to Częstochowa Jews.

A concert by the Częstochowa Philharmonic was the inaugural event marking the year 2022 designated as "The Year of Bronisław Huberman", the outstanding Częstochowa-born violinist.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the fifth candle of this year's Chanukah celebrations was lit at the Częstochowa branch of the TSKŻ (the Social-Cultural Association of Jews in Poland).

In a ceremony held at the Częstochowa TSKŻ, prizes were presented to the student competition winners reciting the poetry and prose of Częstochowa Holocaust survivor, Irit Amiel z”l.

Ceremonies took place in both Częstochowa and Tel Aviv commemorating the 79th anniversary of the liquidation of the Częstochowa ghetto.

It is with great sorrow that we learned of the sudden passing of Ireneusz Kozera b.p., a great friend of our World Society and of the Jewish community in Częstochowa.

An Irit Amiel poetry and prose recitation competition for school students - one of a series of events marking the 80th anniversary of the liquidation of the Częstochowa Ghetto.

Old photographs of the Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery have the potential to help identify the graves of our family members so that they will not remain anonymous forever.

It is with great regret that it has been decided to postpone the World Society’s 6th Reunion which we hoped to hold in Częstochowa in October 2021.

Our 2021 Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery clean-up continued from last month, with more of our amazing volunteers, including Paweł Kulig, Dariusz Popiela and Jeffrey Cymbler.

A ceremony took place, at the Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery, marking the 78th anniversary of the liquidation of the Częstochowa "Small Ghetto", with flowers being laid at monuments.

The 2020 Cemetery clean-up was postponed due to COVID-19. However, despite the ongoing impact of the pandemic, the 2021 clean-up of the Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery has begun!

On 7th June 2021, the Częstochowa branch of the TSKŻ (the Social-Cultural Association of Jews in Poland) celebrated Israel's Independence Day at its headquarters at ul. Katedralna 8

Express your interest in attending should the World Society hold its 6th Reunion in Częstochowa on 10th-12th October 2021. It is NOT a registration or booking.

The Częstochowa City Council has unanimously passed a resolution declaring, in Częstochowa, 2021 as the Year of Remembrance of the Victims of the Częstochowa Ghetto.

Our World Society Vice-President and Chairman of the Association of Częstochowa Jews in Israel, Alon Goldman, has been awarded Poland's “Gold Cross of Merit".

Częstochowa, just as in other places across Poland and Israel, commemorated the 78th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Several events were held to mark the occasion.

During the Holocaust, in Częstochowa, she and her stepmother, Maria Koźmińska ( née Hoffman), helped Abraham Jabloński, an eight-year-old Jewish boy.

Holocaust denier vandals have desecrated the monument, in memory of Częstochowa Jews, located on the site of the former Umschlagplatz (now named "Samuel Willenberg Square").

It was with great sadness that the World Society learned of the passing of writer and poet Irit Amiel Z"l, who has passed away at the age of ninety. She has twice been nominated for a Nike Literary Award.

Two new books about the history of Częstochowa Jewry, in Polish, have just been published by the Częstochowa Municipal Museum and are now available for purchase.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Channukah celebrations in Poland will either be held online or not at all. This also affects the Częstochowa branch of the TSKŻ.

Unlike in previous years, the Memorial Service, marking the 78th anniversary of the liquidation of the Częstochowa Ghetto, had to be a “virtual” one.

It was with great sadness that the World Society learned of the passing of Ryszard Welgryn, Deputy Chairman of the Częstochowa branch of the TSKŻ.

The Częstochowa City Council has decided to name the area around the Częstochowa Umschlagplatz, "Willenberg Square", in honour of our late, great landsmann Samuel Willenberg z"l.

For us and for future generations, survivors' and witnesses' memories and testimonies, telling us their own stories about Częstochowa, are of great historical importance.

A ceremony was held at the memorial to Częstochowa Jewish Holocaust victims commemorating the 78th anniversary of the liquidation of the Czestochowa ghetto in 1942.

An exhibition of bronze sculptures, "The Image of Treblinka in the Eyes of Samuel Willenberg", by our late landsmann opened in Częstochowa on 17th September 2020.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the town's population reached around 5,000, of whom 60% were Jews. When the War ended, the Jewish community of Żarki was no more.

It is with immense pleasure we announce that, last week, Magdalena successfully earned her PhD. We congratulate her and her family on this wonderful achievement!

To mark its 800th anniversary, the City of Częstochowa has created a magnificent website, telling the history of the city from its first mention in 1220 to the present day.

This year's annual clean-up of the Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery, due to take place 1st-5th June 2020, has had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A plaque was unveiled on the building at Aleja Tadeusz Kościuszki 14, telling a little of the building's history and listing its pre-War residents, 80% of whom were Jewish.

Through the efforts of our Alon Goldman and Alan Silberstein, the World Society hosted a seminar in Częstochowa, for Israeli tour guides, about Częstochowa and its rich Jewish history.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, there will be an upgrade to the Stary Rynek which, prior to World War II, was a centre of Jewish communal and commercial activity.

In Warsaw, Ada Willenberg, the widow of our landsmann Samuel Willenberg z'"l, officially opened an exhibition of her husband's bronze sculptures depicting his images of Treblinka.

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Bogdan Jastrzębski, a Częstochowa Righteous Among the Nations. He died in Częstochowa at the age of 94.

Members of the Częstochowa branch of the Social-Cultural Association of Jews in Poland (TSKŻ) came together with family and friends to celebrate the beginning of Chanukah 5780.

The  newest member of our World Society -  a beautiful, healthy daughter, Chaya Ita, born to proud parents Yaakov and Elisheva Wasilewicz on 25th September 2019..

From June 1943 until January 1945, around 4,000 Jewish prisoners worked as slave labourers in the HASAG-Warta Hugo Schneider AG armaments factory.

The Memory of Treblinka Foundation endeavours to be one of the many institutions which restore the memories of those murdered in the Holocaust, particularly in Treblinka.

All are invited to attend the 2019 Annual Memorial Service of the Association of Częstochowa Jews in Israel which will be held at 5:00pm on Sunday 22nd September 2019.

On an almost annual basis, our World Society Vice-President, Alon Goldman, has organised and led a clean-up of the Częstochowa Jewish cemetery. In 2019, the work continues!

Help is needed to locate family members and/or descendants of the former Jewish residents who, at the outbreak of World War II, lived at Aleja Tadeusza Kościuszki 14.

The City of Częstochowa and the Częstochowa TSKŻ have commemorated the 76th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Local high school students also participated.

The Częstochowa Museum and Częstochowa TSKŻ will commemorate the 76th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on Wednesday 17th April 2019. You are invited to attend.

Unfortunately, our Częstochowa Jewish Cemetery has again been been the target of an act of vandalism. This time, the culprits focused on the ohel of Rabbi Izaak Majer Justman.

The first of six meetings, planned for 2019, between Israeli high school students and students from Częstochowa has taken place. Overall, they will involve around 1,500 students

Alon Goldman visited Częstochowa to promote a process which would be able to resolve the issue of the ownership of our Jewish Cemetery so that restoration works can begin.

Members of the Częstochowa TSKŻ and their guests gathered together in the conference hall of the Jewish Museum of Częstochowa, at ulica Katedralna 8, to celebrate the first night of Channukah and the lighting of the first candle.

Holocaust survivors, their families and friends, some of whom had not seen each other for many years, attended the 2018 Annual Commemoration of Częstochowa Jews conducted by the Israeli Częstochowa Jews Association. The event was held at Wolyn House, Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies. in Israel.

The City of Częstochowa has honoured the Częstochowa Branch of the TSKŻ with an award entitled Tym Co Sluza Miastu i Ojczyznie (for Service to the City and the Homeland).

For the next four years, the Jan Długosz University of Częstochowa will award a prize for the best piece of new research into the history of the Jewish community of Częstochowa and the surrounding area.

In a ceremony held at the Umschlagplatz monument, Częstochowa remembered its Jewish citizens, victims of the Holocaust, by commemorating the 76th anniversary of the liquidation of the Częstochowa ghetto. The monument site is from where, between 22nd September and 7th October 1942, six train transports departed for Treblinka, carrying around 40,000 Jews to their deaths.

The Częstochowa TSKŻ (Social-Cultural Association of Jews) was the venue for the opening of the "Jews in the Polish Army" exhibition, in the presence of Częstochowa Deputy Mayor Ryszard Stefaniak and Częstochowa Museum Director Tadeusz Piersiak.

After many years of neglect, a major step has been taken to clean-ep Częstochowa's Jewish Cemetery. It was a complex task, laden with serious concerns but, in the end, it was made possible thanks to the determination, perseverance, a great deal of goodwill and the great help of the good people who volunteered for the task.