Skip to main content

The Jewish Cemetery, Warsaw


This is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe.  Established in 1806, it contains over 200,000 marked graves and mass graves of victims of the Warsaw Ghetto.

During the first decades of the cemetery's existence, mostly the very wealthy were interred here.  The poorer Jews were buried at the Praga cemetery on the other side of the Wisla (Vistula) River.  The Jewish cemetery had to be expanded a few times over many years and after the 1840-48 expansion it became the main Jewish cemetery of Warsaw, no matter the status.  In 1913, due to conflicts within the Jewish community, a decision was made to split the cemetery into four parts: Orthodox, Reformed, Children and Military/State.  A high wall surrounding the cemetery was built in 1930's.

The cemetery was partly demolished during WWII.  The Germans also used it as a site for mass executions and buried victims of the Warsaw Ghetto, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising.  At that time both Jews and non Jews were interred there.  Following the Ghetto Uprising in 1943 the Germans blew up the buildings around the cemetery including the burial house and the Synagogue. 






 It was a grey day in Warsaw and it had just stopped raining.  My friend and I walked through the cemetery in awe of its quiet beauty.  It was peaceful, a gentle wind made the leaves on the trees rustle slowly.  I don't feel comfortable walking through cemeteries, and this one, so close to where the ghetto used to be, had the added feeling of tragedy.  The overgrown shrubs and trees sprouting from in between some of the graves, created the sense of history and heartbreak.  This is a solemn place but it also speaks of the wonderful, vibrant and strong Jewish life that has been here for so long.
I found it very touching that in one area of the cemetery we saw graves that were over 200 years old and then we came across a grave that was just a week old.  Jewish life in Warsaw continues to thrive. 
 




 Mass grave for the Warsaw Ghetto victims.



















Warsaw Uprising fighters.


 For privacy, I blocked out the name.  This lady, a Holocaust Survivor, passed away in New Jersey but was brought back to Poland.





















 Janusz Korczak Monument.

Janusz Korczak was a doctor, author, school principal, docent at a Polish University but most importantly, a man who loved children.  He established a Jewish orphanage in 1912.  Korczak received many offers to be smuggled out once the orphanage was moved inside the Ghetto, but he refused each time.  On August 5, 1942, Korczak, the orphanage staff and 200 children were rounded up for deportation to Treblinka.  They all perished. 




The Jewish Cemetery
ul. Okopowa 49/51
Monday-Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 1pm
Sunday 11am - 4pm




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bordier Butter - The Best Butter in France

France is in the midst of a butter shortage!  Due to a decrease in milk production and a substantial demand for French pastries all over the world (mainly China and the Middle East), the price of butter has increased by 60% in one year.  The French are stocking up and thus creating shortages.  French newspapers are publishing articles titled "A guide to cooking without butter".  So, with hopes that the shortages are temporary, here is my ode to the best butter in the world.  I'm not kidding.  The. Best. Butter. In. The. World. Mr. Bordier, a grandson and a son of cheese mongers, became a butter artisan in 1985.  He acquired a creamery originally founded in 1927.  The supreme taste of the Bordier butter was first recognized by a chef from the Plaza Athenee while vacationing in Brittany, a beautiful region in northwestern France. Bordier is the lone butter master to still use the old method of kneading the butter according to the 19th century t...
4 comments
Read more

Indian Accent, NYC

Often when a question arises as to what to eat for dinner, I think of Indian food.  I am a very happy gal with chicken makhani, basmati rice, an onion kulcha or a nan laid out in front of me.  I have heard some very good things about Indian Accent, a relatively new restaurant in midtown Manhattan, adjacent to the Parker Hotel. The décor here is unlike most Indian restaurants I have visited; no boldly colored fabrics, beautiful tapestries, intricately carved wood, or lanterns.  Indian Accent restaurant looks like something that Daniel Boulud would envision.  There are about fifteen wooden tables and a few small booths, fabric covered modern chairs, a lit bar with glass shelves and golden accents throughout, and large glass vases filled with flowering branches. The menu is complicated, however, our terrific waiter took his time and explained each dish and even made some wonderful suggestions.  Actually, everyone at the restaurant was really professiona...
2 comments
Read more

A. Lacroix Patisserie, Paris

My visits to Paris are usually carefully planned out; practically every meal is decided far in advance, and same goes for pastries, ice cream and macaron.  While I have not visited every pastry shop in Paris, that would be almost impossible given their numbers, I am aware of most of them.  Imagine my happiness when I came across a brand new patisserie, one that is barely a year old!   A. Lacroix is a lovely tea room/patisserie opened by an American woman and a Parisian pastry chef.  Jackie, the founder, is originally from Ohio but has been living in Paris for nine years.  She left her job in the telecom industry in order to pursue a dream of opening a tea salon.  I'm so glad she did!   This is a charming patisserie/tea salon with beautiful stone walls, wooden beams, plenty of seating space, and location that just can't be beat.  One side of the place looks at the Notre-Dame Cathedral! A. Lacroix is not just a pastry sho...
Post a Comment
Read more