Sejny

.It was blue here סייני .Lith. Seinai, Rus. Сейны, Yid Up there there were polychrome paintings. This is the balcony where my mother and younger brothers were standing. Max Furmański

In 2000, a bespectacled man with singing Hasidic melodies. Furmański, a small moustache stopped in front of who had been a in Argentina for the White Synagogue in Sejny. Max many years and then a cantor in the Furmański had been born in Sejny in , had arrived in Sejny, 1934. After surviving and had entered the synagogue, just as a concentration camp prisoner and as a theatre performance based on S. partisan, and loosing his whole fam- An-sky’s play The Dybbuk was being ily he left in 1945, swearing he rehearsed there. ¶ Max started to talk would never come back. But in 2000, he with the young people in the synagogue. did come back here to show his home- Afterward, walking around the town, town to his wife and son. Furmański he found the place where his family remembered the synagogue very well: as home had been and met his childhood a young boy he used to come here with neighbour. Two years later, he came back his grandfather. Now, after a moment’s again to attend the unveiling of a memo- hesitation, he went inside again. ¶ rial stone at the Jewish cemetery in A group of young people dressed in the Sejny. He performed at concerts together traditional clothes of Hasidic were with the Sejny Klezmer Band.

„Over there, at the riverside, there were booths where girls changed their clothes, and we spied at them through the knot holes. ¶ Max Furmański

Dominicans and the White in 1768. In the mid-19th century, Jews Synagogue ¶ As the town belonged constituted more than 70 percent of the to the Vilna () monks, the the town population. ¶ The synagogue permission to build the first synagogue was erected in 1788, a year after the in Sejny was granted by the Domini- Jews settling in Sejny had been granted can Order. As a means of promoting the right to do so. That original wooden economic development, the Dominicans “shingle-roofed synagogue with a colon- had been encouraging Jewish merchants nade” was replaced in 1885 by a new and craftsmen to settle in Sejny stating one – the White Synagogue, built on the  The White Synagogue in initiative of Rabbi Moshe Betzalel Luria. rarely found in the curricula of Jewish Sejny, ; collection of the “Borderland of Arts, According to unconfirmed reports, schools at the time. The most prominent Cultures, and Nations” Wawrzyniec Bortkiewicz, Prior of the Lithuanian , followed by students Centre (www.pogranicze. sejny.pl) Dominican Order in Sejny, joined the from all over the , came rabbi in carrying the image of the Ten to study at the yeshivah, while many Commandments into the newly erected enlightened scholars visited the school building. or studied there. At the end of the 19th century, the gymnasium was closed, Two schools ¶ In the second half of and the building was turned into a post the 19th century, the famous theolo- office. The yeshivah, too, was closed by gian and philosopher Moshe Yitzhak the Tsarist authorities, and Reb Avigdor Avigdor became the town rabbi. He was banished. Afterwards, the building soon founded a yeshivah (Talmudic housed a and a cheder, academy), next to which the community and it may also have served as the seat established a Hebrew high school run of the rabbinate. ¶ One of those who by Tuvye Shapiro – this school became studied at the Tuvye Shapiro’s school was one of the most important centres of Morris Rosenfeld (1862–1923), a poet the (the Jewish Enlighten- born into the family of a Jewish fisher- ment movement) in , bring- man in the nearby village of Boksze. ing renown to the town. Apart from religion, the school offered classes in

Sejny geography, mathematics, Russian, and  other comprehensive subjects that were The Furmański family in front of their house in Krzywa Street, Sejny, s; collec- tion of the “Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations” Centre (www.pogranicze.sejny.pl)

Sejny. A view of the town from the tower of the Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ; collection of the “Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations” Centre (www.pogranicze.sejny.pl)

In , Morris Rosenfeld emigrated to the United States, where he became one of the so-called “sweatshop poets.” He published poems about the difficult fate of the workers. Written in Yiddish, they were translated into English, Pol- ish, Russian, Spanish, German, and French. His poem My Little Boy became a popular folk song. Rosenfeld was called a “millionaire of tears.” He died in poverty, but his funeral in New York was attended by more than , people.

Hard times ¶ At the turn of the 20th Bakers’ strike ¶ In March 1930, bak- century, most inhabitants left Sejny eries in Sejny stopped working. Boruch because of difficult economic and social Dusznicki, the owner of the largest local conditions. They emigrated mainly to bakery, as well as his competitors, Wal- the United States. As a result, the town’s ter Epsztejn and Michel Borowski, went population fell from more than 4,500 in on strike to protest against the govern- 1895 to 3,412 in 1931, and the percent- ment’s decision to lower bread prices. age of Jews decreased from 75 to 24 After a few days, they were forced to percent (817 people). resume work – it is not known whether or not they succeeded in negotiating  Morris Rosenfeld, before ; collection of the “Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations” Centre (www.pogranicze. sejny.pl)

On the other side of the street, the Museum of the Sejny Land ( Piłsudskiego St.) features a collection of Judaica from Sejny. Photo by Krzysztof Bielawski, ; digital collection of the Virtual Shtetl (www.sztetl. org.pl)

for higher prices. ¶ The Jewish organi- spread to nearby towns on both sides sations functioning in Sejny at that of the border, and shared the fate of time included trade unions: the Jewish other Jewish inhabitants. Most of them Merchants’ Union and the Jewish Crafts- were murdered after the outbreak of the men’s Union. A Sejny branch of the German-Soviet war (June 22, 1941). Jewish Sports Association “Maccabee,” with Joel Mącznik as chairman, was well Jewish cemeteries ¶ There is no known in the entire region. Its sports trace left of the old Jewish cemetery, field was located where the municipal which was founded in the 18th century hospital now stands. on what is today Zawadzkiego St. But off the road to Augustów, just outside Sejny World War II and the Holocaust in the neighbouring village of Mar- ¶ On September 24, 1939, Soviet troops ynowo, there is another Jewish cemetery, entered Sejny. They retreated after less founded in 1830. All its gravestones than three weeks, only to be replaced by were destroyed during or after the war. German occupying forces on October In 2002, a plaque was erected there, with 13, 1939. As early as November 1939, an inscription reading: “In memory of the Jews of Sejny were deported to “the the Jews of Sejny – from the residents of strip of no man’s land” between Poland Sejny.” and Lithuania, and from there they

„It is a miracle that I am alive. It is a miracle that I came back to Sejny. It is a miracle that I am standing at this stone and saying the Kaddish. I am so grate- ful that I am here with you and that together we are honouring the memory of those who ¶ Sejny can’t come back. Max Furmański  combining reflection on identity and Max Furmański at the commemorative memory issues with hands-on cultural matzevah at the Jewish activism in the local community of the cemetery in Sejny, ¶ ; collection of the borderland. Founded by Krzysztof “Borderland of Arts, Czyżewski and his associates, the Centre Cultures, and Nations” Centre (www.pogranicze. has become one of the most important sejny.pl) Present day ¶ Today, the county places in Poland that encourages reflec- The performance town of Sejny has a population of 6,000, tion on Polish and Polish-Jewish history. of Sejny Chronicles, mainly of ethnic and ; Together with local children, members ; collection of the “Borderland of Arts, there is no Jewish community. There of the Center created a performance Cultures, and Nations” are several small hotels and restaurants piece entitled The Sejny Chronicles, an Centre (www.pogranicze. in town, and thanks to the picturesque evocative theatrical portrayal of life in sejny.pl) location among the lakes of the Suwałki old multicultural Sejny, based on the Lake District, agritourism accommoda- memories of local residents. They also tion is easily available in almost every formed the Sejny Klezmer Band, whose nearby village. musicians include young residents of the town. The publishing wing of the Bor- Borderland ¶ In 1990, a group of derland Centre was the first in Poland young artists looking for a place to hold to publish Jan Tomasz Gross’s book meetings and events stopped in front of Neighbours, which describes the murder Sejny’s abandoned Shoe Manufactur- of Jews in the town of Jedwabne by their ing Plant – the building that had once Polish neighbours. These and other served as a yeshivah – and the empty, activities by the Centre have inspired newly-renovated White Synagogue continuing public debate on Polish- nearby (used in the past as a fertilizer Jewish relations. warehouse and a depot for municipal vehicles). It was here that they set up the “Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations” Centre. This has evolved into an experimental cultural centre  In , the “Borderland” Foundation opened the International Centre for Dialogue in the nearby village of . Located in the former manor house that belonged to the family of Czesław Miłosz, a Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, it brings together people from around the world. Collection of the “Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations” Centre (www.pogranicze. sejny.pl)

Sejny, buildings of former , jeshivah and synagogue, . Photo by Krzysztof Bielawski, digital collec- tion of the Virtual Shtetl (www.sztetl.org.pl)

Surrounding Krasnogruda (8 km): a manor house (17th c.), the venue of cultural events organised in the area summer by the Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations Centre. ¶ Krasnopol (13 km): a former synagogue, currently a shop (1850); a Jewish cemetery located on a hill, about 8 km southeast of the village. ¶ Puńsk (23 km): a former wooden synagogue, currently a dwelling (19th/20th c.); the rabbi’s house in Mickiewicza St.; the former Lithuanian Culture Centre (20th c.); a Jewish cemetery (19th c.); the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1877–1881); a parish granary (2nd half of the 19th c.); a cemetery chapel (1820). ¶ Suwałki (30 km): a former prayer house, a cheder, a Hebrew school and a rabbi’s house (next to residential buildings); a former Jewish hospital and a nurs- ing home (the building of the former Municipal Community Centre); a Jewish cemetery surrounded with a memorial wall of matzevot (1825); the wooden All Saints’ Orthodox Church (1891–1892); the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity (1838–1841); St. Alexander’s Co-Cathedral (1825). Suwałki is the birthplace of Abraham Stern – a national hero of . ¶ Sejny Wigry (38 km): a monastery (1667); Wigry National Park (42 lakes, forests  with a network of water, hiking, and biking trails). ¶ (42 km): a Jewish cemetery (18th c.); the wooden Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1878); a wooden bell tower (2nd half of the 19th c.). ¶ Augustów (44 km): the former beth midrash (next to the Tax Office); a Jewish cemetery (1800); the Old Post Office (1829); a house at 28 Rynek Zygmunta Augusta (1800); barracks (1890s); the Augustów Canal (1824–1839). ¶ Bakałarzewo (49 km): a Jewish cemetery (1850s) south of the town, near Lake Szumowo; St. James the Apostle Church (1936). ¶ Szczebra (49 km): a plaque commemorating the Jews executed in the Suwałki region; mass graves of victims. ¶ Filipów (54 km): a Jewish cemetery (2nd half of the 19th c.); a Mariavite cemetery (1906); the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1841–1842). ¶ Przerośl (57 km): a Jewish cemetery (early 20th c.); a wooden bell tower (1790). ¶ Bridges in Stańczyki (67 km): one of the highest railway bridges in Poland (1912–1918). ¶ Augustów Forest: one of the most extensive virgin forests in Poland, straddling the borders of Poland, Lithuania, and . It boasts approx. 100 species of vascular plants, 2,000 species of animals, and trees that are more than 200 years old. The most precious part of the forest is protected by the Wigry National Park. Another attraction is the 102-km-long Augustów Canal connecting the basins of the Vistula and the Neman Rivers.

SEJNY Former White Synagogue Worth (1860–1870), now exhibi- seeing tion hall, 41 Piłsudskiego St., tel. +48 87 516 27 65, sekretariat@pogran- icze.sejny.pl ¶ Former yeshivah (Talmudic academy) (1860s), 39 Piłsudskiego St. ¶ Former Hebrew gymnasium (high school), now the seat of the Borderland of Arts, Cultures, and Nations Centre (1850s), 37 Piłsudskiego St. ¶ Jewish cemetery, 1 Maja St. ¶ Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, former Dominican church (1610–1619), 1 Św. Agaty Sq. ¶ Church of Our Lady of Częstochowa, former Evangelical church (1844), 4 Zawadzkiego St. ¶ Bishops’ Palace, now housing the Museum of the Sejny Land (1850s), 28 Piłsudskiego St.,+48 87 516 22 12 ¶ Town Hall (1846), 25 Piłsudskiego St. ¶ Lithuanian Cultural Center, 9 July 22nd St., +48 87 51 62 908 