Article in the Long Island Jewish World on the Re-Dedication Ceremony in Serock
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Remembrance Etched in Stone Honoring the destroyed Jewish community from Serock, Poland By MICHAEL SCHUDRICH and MONIKA KRAWCZYK n Aug. 27, Serock, a small town in central Poland, Olocated at the beautiful Narew river, witnessed a quite uncommon event in its rural com- Photos: (c) FODZ.PL FIRST PERSON munity: a gathering of determined men and women, including American and Polish dignitaries, joining in common purpose to unveil a monument at the site of the town’s former Jewish ceme- tery to honor and remember the (Above): Gathering of dignitaries at the site of the former Jewish cemetery in Serock, Jewish community in Serock, Poland. Lee Seeman, a North Hempstead town councilwoman and a member of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, is at right. most of it eviscerated by the (Above, right): The ceremony unveiling a monument at the site to honor and Germans during the Holocaust. remember the Jewish community of Serock, which was mostly destroyed during the Only a handful of the more than Holocaust. (Right): The monument up close. 4,000 Jews living in Serock in 1939 survived the catastrophe. one of at least 1,200 sites, and In Sefer Zikaron Serock, a com- there are only nine Jewish com- We want the memorative book published in the munities spread throughout 1960s, the site was described this Poland. About that time, some dignity returned to way: “The old and new cemeteries tombstones were discovered dur- were located three kilometers out- ing nearby road construction and this site. Even side of the city, on the road to were brought to the cemetery site. without the Pultusk (past the large sawmill) The new challenge was to find the and in the glow of the clear river funds to restore it. physical presence Narew. The area belonged to the In 1998 the descendants of the community but the administration Serock Jews who’d survived the of Jews in the was in the hands of the Burial war and the U.S. Commission for town, the action ground. It was an act of re-dedica- war. Both were 13 years old when Society. In the cemeteries, the the Preservation of America’s tion of the cemetery. We want the the war began. Gasiorowski, who bones of our dearest ancestors Heritage Abroad carried out a will speak to the dignity returned to this site. Even attended the ceremony with his from approximately 150 years ago commemoration project in the without physical presence of the two daughters and their husbands, were buried. At the time when the nearby Wyszkow Jewish ceme- Jewish belief in Jews living in the town, the bones offered warm words to Dina's fam- community was destroyed [in tery. Since the two towns were universal values, alone will declare the Jewish ily, which also was present. Dina December 1939], the German van- historically connected, many for- belief in universal values, includ- and Stanislaw easily communicat- dals destroyed the graves and used mer “Vyshkovers” shared family including respect ing respect for past generations. ed in Polish, remembering the the tombstones to build highways. links to Serock, and by then the Among those who attended the tragic days of their youth. The cemetery was [ploughed idea of a Serock cemetery com- for past ceremony were Stephen Mull, U.S. Stanislaw said that his parents under], and they planted grass memoration had been conceived. Ambassador to Poland; Lee viewed every human as someone there, and shepherds tended to This project had to wait until generations. Seeman, member of the U.S. with dignity, and noted that though their flocks there. The cemetery is 2014 to be realized. The legal, Commission for the Preservation of they were afraid of the death erased, without any trace at all.” administrative and technical side grounds. The work to legally reg- America’s Heritage Abroad, lead- penalty imposed by the Germans After the war the state of disre- of the undertaking was handled by ister and then determine the ing a U.S. delegation; Michael on Poles caught assisting the Jews, pair continued, as the Jewish com- The Foundation for the boundaries of the historical prop- Schudrich, chief rabbi of Poland; this did not deterred them from munity of Serock had ceased to Preservation of Jewish Heritage in erty, should some funds become Piotr Kadlcik, president of the providing shelter and food to six exist. The cemetery was no more, Poland (FODZ), which was work- available for this purpose, will Union of Jewish Religious Jews. Dina related how she’d met and the whole area was zoned by ing hand in hand with the eventually lead to the construction Communities in Poland; Monika him on a road while was walking Polish communist government as Rabbinical Commission on of a fence around the whole area. Krawczyk, Director of the barefoot and crying that she had “recreation area” and allocated for Cemeteries. Chief Rabbi of This new monument (and future Foundation for the Preservation of no place to go. a nearby “hotel.” Poland Michael Schudrich was fences) will bear witness to its Jewish Heritage in Poland, as well Dina’s granddaughter, 16-year- When Poland became a demo- consulted to ensure proper treat- glorious Jewish past and our joint as local authorities. old Hannah Albert-Chapness, cratic country, positive changes ment and protection of the burial commitment to remember. The ceremony witnessed also a whose bat mitzvah project had became possible. In 1997 a law ground. Special team of Remembrance was the central moving reunion of Holocaust sur- been to help raise funds for the was passed which allowed the researchers, surveyors and rab- subject of the speeches made on vivor Dina Albert, born Doba monument that was unveiled at Jews of Poland to protect Jewish binic selected the location of the that Aug. 27. In our eyes, the event Drezner in Serock, with Stanislaw the cemetery on that day, spoke cemeteries. The problem was that new monument, which was built represented more than just placing Gasiorowski, son of the Polish on behalf of the descendants of Jewish cemetery in Serock was just outside of the historical burial a new memorial on hallowed family that saved her during the continued on page 18 The success of the Serock project is evidence that we can save our cemeteries. Goodwill and benevolence from the U.S. together with professionalism and sensitivity from the Polish Jewish community can enable us to finally pay the proper respect to our ancestors and their graves. 16 JEWISH WORLD • SEPTEMBER 5-11, 2014 working together, contributing all members of our family, were The support and appreciation Stone funds, skills and know-how for Alone killed. We’ve had dozens of lone we’ve gotten from not only the one common goal. soldiers injured, and have been with entire Israeli population, but also the Many Jews abroad are discour- them and their families in and out of entire Jewish world is heartwarming. continued from page 16 aged when they see visual evi- continued from previous page hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Serock. She said that her presence dence of neglected burial sites, The army and the State of Israel We pray for the speedy recovery of To learn more about the center, there, representing the newest gen- their earnest passion to do some- reap benefits because we are taking all of the soldiers still hospitalized. visit www.LoneSoldierCenter.com. eration, is a guarantee that the past thing notwithstanding. The suc- an “at risk” population that has the shall never be forgotten. cess of the Serock project is evi- motivation necessary to succeed but dence that we can save our ceme- often lack the support to do so. We SOLIDARITY MISSION he new monument includes a teries. Goodwill and benevolence provide that support by treating the Tstone structure in which sur- from the U.S. together with pro- lone soldiers as members of an viving tombstones were placed, fessionalism and sensitivity from extended family. and bears an inscription, which the Polish Jewish community can Lone soldiers often go on to reads in part: “This area compris- enable us to finally pay the prop- become community leaders who es the Jewish Cemetery of Serock. er respect to our ancestors and better the lives of Israelis at home Jews were buried here from the their graves. and abroad. Over the past five years, 18th century until 1939, when “Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor we have seen hundreds of such suc- Nazi German forces ordered that ve’lo ata ben chorin lehibetel cess stories. A prime example is the all traces of the cemetery be oblit- mimena” — “You are not required chairman of our board of trustees, erated. For many years, the grave- to complete the task, yet you are Michael Oren, the historian who just stones on the wall were piled up not free to withdraw from it” recently completed his tenure as on a nearby site. This memorial (Pirkei Avot, 2:21). Israeli ambassador to the U.S. pays tribute to a once vibrant Jewish community and honours Michael Schudrich is the chief How has the war in Gaza those citizens of Serock who were rabbi of Poland and the Jewish affected the Lone Soldier Center? murdered in the Holocaust solely Community in Warsaw. Monika Operation Protective Edge has because they were Jewish.” Krawczyk is a lawyer and CEO of posed a tremendous challenge to us The event was a powerful exam- the Foundation for the Preservation and was very heartbreaking. Three The New York Board of Rabbis recently hosted a solidarity mission to Israel.