Workshop: “Jewish cemeteries of western Poland. State of preservation, documentation”
On Friday – 9 December – another workshop in the series ‘Jewish life in Pomerania in the memory of Germans and Poles’ took place. The meeting, entitled “Jewish cemeteries of western Poland. State of preservation, documentation” took place in the conference room of the Historical Institute of the University of Szczecin. It was opened by the director of the IH Prof. Agnieszka Szudarek, Dr Paweł Migdalski (IH University of Szczecin) and Dr Magdalena Abraham-Diefenbach (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder). The workshop consisted of three parts. The first panel consisted of presentations by: Tomasz Wolender (Zachodniopomorski Provincial Conservator of Monuments) on the Jewish cemetery in Szczecin, Magdalena Abraham-Diefenbach, who discussed a project for the documentation of Jewish cemeteries in the former Brandenburg province, which is part of the Lubuskie and Zachodniopomorskie Voivodships, and Steven Reece (Andrews University, Berrien Spprings, MI, USA / Fulbright Scholar to Poland – Historical Institute University of Szczecin / The Matzevah Foundation), who in turn presented his work on Jewish cemeteries in Poland, and the relationship between Jews and Christians. All three lectures complemented each other, crossing successive spheres of recognition of Jewish cemeteries from historical and conservation issues to the humanist-philosophical approach to these signs of memory of a community that has lived in the area for hundreds of years.
The axis of the second panel was an extensive presentation by Prof. Leszek Hońdo (Jagiellonian University, Krakow) entitled Documentation of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland. Specifics of the Western and Northern Territories, which, however, went far beyond the specific topic, but also presented a great deal of information on the issue of death and burials among the Jewish population, noting regional similarities and differences. This presentation was followed by a lengthy discussion, in which it was raised and demanded that measures coordinated between various institutions be intensified with regard to the preservation of the remains of the Szczecin cemetery and the matzevot found there. Education and information activities, especially among young people, which should involve various institutions, including the University of Szczecin, were identified as an important demand.
The final point of the workshop was an afternoon tour of the Szczecin Jewish cemetery led by Tomasz Wolender. Closer inspection of the necropolis indicates that it may be hiding even more material traces than is commonly thought, so that further research work needs to be undertaken on the site, including the securing of the desecrated stone matzevot that have been preserved there and the reading of the matzevot that have been found and incorporated into the monument.
We hope that the workshop has contributed to a better knowledge of Jewish cemeteries and that the activities around the Szczecin Jewish cemetery will be intensified.
We invite you to view the photo report.