A fresh commemorative plaque appeared at the judaic cemetery in Szczuchczyn. It reminds of the victims of the tragic events of 1941.
Szczuczyn is simply a town in Podlaskie Voivodeship. Since the 18th century, Jews have besides lived there, who have been more than half of the population for many years. At the turn of June and July 1941, after Germany's aggression against the russian Union, there was a pogrom in Szczuchin, which besides was attended by any of the Polish inhabitants of the city. Hundreds of Jews were killed in 3 weeks.
During the years of the Polish People’s Republic in the judaic cemetery, the authorities erected a modest monument from Lastryko with the inscription: “At this place in August 1941, fascists brutally murdered 600 judaic people. I welcome their memory.”
For 2 years the cemetery has belonged to the Foundation for the Protection of judaic Heritage. The fresh owner arranged the area, marked its boundaries with stone posts with the star David, and set up plaques with information about the cemetery and the Święcin Jews.
“The next task was to remove the monument with a lying inscription and to commemorate the victims of the pogrom,” says Krzysztof Bielawski from the FODŻ.
For this purpose, FODŻ won funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The support was besides presented by the descendants of szczuczyński Jews, including the Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich, Paul Walsky, Michael Marvins and the Friends of judaic Heritage organization in Poland.
A fewer days ago, a stone matzeva was set up in the cemetery. It says: “The place of remembrance of the Jews, the victims of the 1941 crime, resting on this cemetery. Let their souls be woven into the knot of life."
The contents of the inscription are the consequence of the FODŻ findings with descendants of local Jews, the Podlaskie Provincial Office, the Institute of National Memory and the Rabin Committee on Cemetery.
– This inscription does not convey the full truth, but besides contains no earlier lies," explained Bielawski. – What happened in Szczuchczyn during the war can be read on close news boards.
The fresh commemoration was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund under the programme "Grobs and War Graveyards in the Country". The plaque was designed by the Joint Forms Foundation, the contractor was Magdalena Olszowska.
