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Striking Holocaust memorial made up of rescued matzevot unveiled in Gorlice

The city’s mayor said the memorial was to the dead who “deserve our respect and commemoration, but the monument is also a historical lesson that reminds us that once upon a time almost half of our town’s population was of Jewish origin.”
UM Gorlice

A striking new memorial to the Holocaust has been unveiled in the south-eastern town of Gorlice, incorporating old Jewish tombstones rescued during an excavation.

Shaped from above like the Star of David, the roofless monument was built at the mouth of the town’s Jewish cemetery so as to comply with the laws of Judaism.

Shaped from above like the Star of David, the roofless monument was built at the mouth of the town’s Jewish cemetery so as to comply with the laws of Judaism.UM Gorlice

The city’s mayor Rafał Kukla told PAP: “All the dead deserve our respect and commemoration, but the monument is also a historical lesson that reminds us that once upon a time almost half of our town’s population was of Jewish origin.”

Though present since the 18th century, Jews first settled en masse in Gorlice in the mid-to-late 19th century. Trading primarily in wine, tobacco and corn, the community thrived and was further boosted when rich Jewish industrialists started taking an interest in the town following the construction of a nearby refinery.

Tombstones discovered underground have now been harnessed to become an important element of the new memorial.UM Gorlice

Fastened to the walls, the inscriptions on the matzevot have also been translated into Polish so as to engage the local population.UM Gorlice

Although relations with the gentile population were at times best described as being frosty, the Great Fire of 1874 saw Jews and Catholics unite to rebuild the town.

Despite later doubling as a hotbed of Zionism, the Jewish community was also active in both local initiatives and national patriotic activities, and in 1936, on the first anniversary of the death of Józef Piłsudski, a trio of local Jewish business leaders – Chiel Morgenstern, Izydor Morgenstern and Maks Garfunkel – laid soil collected from their respective mines at Kraków’s Piłsudski Mound.

Though present since the 18th century, Jews first settled en masse in Gorlice in the mid-to-late 19th century.POLIN Museum

Trading primarily in wine, tobacco and corn, the community thrived and was further boosted when rich Jewish industrialists started taking an interest in the town following the construction of a nearby refinery.POLIN Museum

Numbering around 4,500-5,000 people when WWII broke out, the Jewish community was decimated with hundreds being executed during actions to liquidate the Ghetto, whilst scores more perished in the gas chambers of Bełżec.POLIN Museum

In total, only 200 Jews are thought to have survived to see peace. Of these, most later emigrated to Israel.Public domain

Numbering around 4,500-5,000 people when WWII broke out, the Jewish community was decimated with hundreds being executed during actions to liquidate the Ghetto, whilst scores more perished in the gas chambers of Bełżec. In all, only 200 Jews are thought to have survived to see peace. Of these, most later emigrated to Israel.

Since then, many traces of the Jewish past have been obliterated, not least when a wedding planner demolished the half-ruined remains of a synagogue in 2015.

However, it was during this work that dozens of tombstones were discovered underground, and these have now been harnessed to become an important element of the new memorial.

Fastened to the walls, their inscriptions have also been translated into Polish so as to engage the local population.

Created, said the Mayor, as “a place of remembrance” and to ensure “that the memory of the terrible events of WWII would never die,” the memorial has fallen under the wider scope of an ambitious project titled Gorlice. Past / Future – Jewish History Saved.

Seeking to celebrate the town’s rich Jewish heritage, the PLN 360,000 project has been co-financed by the city, the New York-based United Gorlice City and the Polish Foreign Ministry.UM Gorlice

Seeking to celebrate the town’s rich Jewish heritage, the PLN 360,000 project has been co-financed by the city, the New York-based United Gorlice City and the Polish Foreign Ministry.

And whilst the memorial will serve as the crowning piece, it will be joined by a rain-activated ‘disappearing mural’, as well as numerous social initiatives such as open-air cinema screenings, online workshops and an outdoor exhibition.

Kukla said: “We strive to nurture the history of our city and our lands. Through such actions we want to emphasize multiculturalism and show that Gorlice was – and to some extent remains – a cultural melting pot.”

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