BUILD WITH US A FIRST MONUMENT COMMEMORATING THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE IN WARSAW! Dear Friends, In August 1942, during the Great Deportation of more than 250 000 Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka death camp, two teenagers hid the Ringelblum Archive in the basement of their former school at Nowolipki 68 We propose to create a memorial at this location for the Oyneg Shabes group, Emanuel Ringelblum, their leader, and the unique archive documenting the Warsaw ghetto, which they created and buried there. Only three of the many members of the Oyneg Shabes group survived. They knew where the archive was buried during the Great Deportation and just before the Warsaw ghetto uprising. They found the first cacheunder the rubble of the destroyed ghetto on September 18, 1946. “What we were unable to shout out to the world, we have buried in the ground …” Those are the words of David Graber, an 19-year-old. David, together with his friend Nachum Grzywacz and former teacher Izrael Lichtensztajn, buried the Oyneg Shabes archive in the basement of the Ber Borochow school, at Nowolipki 68, which they had attended before the war. He put his last will and testament, which he had written in his school notebook, in the archive just before burying it. Neither the boys nor their teacher survived the war. Graber’s words, the inspiration for the monument, symbolize the thousands of documents, letters, lists, newspapers, and other materials in the archive. They record the names of thousands of Warsaw Jews who were murdered and who would otherwise be forgotten. Emanuel Ringelblum, David Graber, Nachum Grzywacz, and many other members of the Oyneg Shabes group preserved evidence of the most tragic chapter in modern Jewish history. By remembering them, we take inspiration from their heroism and resolve to fight hatred and its tragic consequences. The proposed monument is described in the attached document. We invite you to join us in creating this landmark monument. Please share these materials with others who might be interested in supporting this initiative. We would be happy to discuss this project with you at your convenience. Sincerely, Piotr Wiślicki President Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland JOIN US IN COMMEMORATING THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE! WHAT WE’VE BEEN UNABLE TO SHOUT OUT TO THE WORLD, WE BURIED IN THE GROUND. ON SEPTEMBER 18, 1946 UNDER THE RUBBLE OF THE DESTROYED GHETTO THE FIRST PART OF THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE WAS FOUND. THE ARCHIVE WAS HIDDEN BY TWO TEENAGERS AND THEIR TEACHER IN THE BASEMENT OF THEIR FORMER SCHOOL. HERSZ WASSER (ON THE RIGHT), ONE OF ONLY THREE MEMBERS OF THE ONEG SHABBAT WHO SURVIVED THE WAR, UNERTHING THE HIDDEN ARCHIVE. WE WANT TO BUILD A MONUMENT WHERE THE ARCHIVE WAS HIDDEN, COMMEMORATING THOSE, FOR WHOM PRESERVING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WARSAW GHETTO WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIFE. PROJECT BY ŁUKASZ MIESZKOWSKI AND MARCIN URBANEK. THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE IS THE FIRST AND UNIQUE IN ITS COMPLEXITY ACADEMIC STUDY ON THE HOLOCAUST, CREATED BY THE VICTIMS DURING THE WAR. THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE AFTER BEING DISCOVERED. THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE EIGHTY YEARS AGO, IN THE AUTUMN OF 1940, HISTORIAN DR. EMANUEL RINGELBLUM FOUNDED THE ONEG SHABBAT, A GROUP WHOSE MEMBERS, AT PERIL OF THEIR LIVES, DOCUMENTED THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JEWS IN THE WARSAW GHETTO, CREATING A COLLECTION KNOWN AS THE WARSAW GHETTO UNDERGROUND ARCHIVE OR THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE. FACED WITH THE ANNIHILATION OF THE WARSAW JEWISH COMMUNITY, IN AUGUST 1942, THE TEENAGERS DAWID GRABER AND NACHUM GRZYWACZ, AND THEIR TEACHER IZRAEL LICHTENSZTAJN HID THE ARCHIVE IN THE CELLAR OF THEIR SCHOOL, THE BER BOROKHOV GYMNASIUM AT UL. NOWOLIPKI 68. NONE OF THE THREE SURVIVED THE WAR. JUST BEFORE THE BOXES WERE CLOSED, GRABER THREW HIS LAST WILL, JOTTED DOWN IN A SCHOOL NOTEBOOK, INTO ONE OF THEM. DR. EMANUEL RINGELBLUM FOUNDER AND LEADER OF THE ONEG SHABBAT GROUP. HE DIED IN 1944. PART OF THE DOCUMENTS SURVIVED AND WERE DISCOVERED ON SEPTEMBER 18, 1946 AND SAVED FROM OBLIVION AFTER THE WAR. THE WARSAW GHETTO UNDERGROUND ARCHIVE IS A COLLECTION OF SEVERAL THOUSAND DOCUMENTS – ACCOUNTS, LETTERS, DRAWINGS, LITERARY WORKS, AND MUCH MORE. THEY ARE OFTEN THE ONLY SURVIVING TRACE OF THOSE WHO PERISHED IN THE HOLOCAUST. TODAY, THE COLLECTION, WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE UNESCO MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER, BELONGS TO THE ASSOCIATION OF THE JEWISH HISTORICAL INSTITUTE OF POLAND. METAL BOXES AND MILK CANES IN WHICH THE ARCHIVE WAS STORED. LAST WILL OF DAWID GRABER I AM WRITING MY LAST WILL DURING THE RESETTLEMENT OF THE JEWS OF WARSAW. IT HAS GONE ON CONTINUALLY, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, SINCE JULY 20TH. PRESENTLY, AS I WRITE THIS, ONE CANNOT POKE ONE’S NOSE OUT OF DOORS. BUT THERE IS NO SAFETY TO BE FOUND INSIDE EITHER. IT’S BEEN 14 DAYS SINCE THIS HORRIBLE BUSINESS STARTED. WE’VE ALMOST LOST TOUCH WITH OUR OTHER COMRADES. IT’S EVERY MAN ON HIS OWN. EVERYONE TRIES TO SAVE THEMSELVES AS BEST THEY CAN. THERE ARE THREE OF US LEFT: COMRADE LICHTENSZTAJN, GRZYWACZ, AND ME. WE’VE DECIDED TO WRITE OUR LAST WILLS, COLLECT A BIT OF MATERIAL FROM THE DEPORTATION, AND BURY IT. WE MUST HURRY, SINCE WE DON’T KNOW THE HOUR... YESTERDAY WE WORKED ON THIS LATE INTO THE NIGHT. [...] WHAT WE’VE BEEN UNABLE TO SHOUT OUT TO THE WORLD, WE’VE BURIED IN THE GROUND. EXCERPT FROM THE LAST WILL OF DAWID GRABER. A COPY OF HIS LAST WILL WILL BE FEATURED AS PART OF A MONUMENT SYMBOLICALLY REPRESENTING ALL THE DOCUMENTS IN THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE. SYMBOLIC TOMB AT THE JEWISH CEMETARY IN WARSAW ADDITIONALLY TO THE MONUMENT WE WISH TO BUILD A SYMBOLIC TOMB FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE ONEG SHABBAT GROUP AT THE OKOPOWA JEWISH CEMETARY IN WARSAW. WE WANT TO PROPERLY HONOR AND BID FAREWELL TO THE HEROS OF THE ONEG SHABBAT GROUP WHOSE RESTING PLACES ARE UKNOWN. BUDGET AND DONOR RECOGNITION MONUMENT CONSTRUCTION: $50,000 USD SYMBOLIC TOMB AT THE JEWISH CEMETARY: $30,000 USD OPENING CEREMONY AND PROGRAMS: $10,000 USD ADMINISTRATION: $10,000 USD TOTAL: $100,000 USD IN CASE OF COLLECTING THE AMOUNT EXCEEDING THE PROPOSED BUDGET, THE REMAINING SUM WILL BE ALLOCATED TO ADDITIONAL PROJECT’S PROMOTION AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE RINGELBLUM ARCHIVE. ALL DONATIONS ALL DONORS WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED ON THE PROJECT WEBSITE. $150 USD AND DONORS WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED ON THE PROJECT WEBSITE AND IN THE AJHI MORE ANNUAL REPORT. $2,500 USD AND DONORS WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED ON THE PROJECT WEBSITE, IN THE AJHI ANNUAL MORE REPORT, AND IN ALL AJHI PUBLICITY MATERIALS ON THE PROJECT. $15,000 USD AND DONORS WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED ON THE PROJECT WEBSITE, IN THE AJHI ANNUAL MORE REPORT, IN ALL AJHI PUBLICITY MATERIALS ON THE PROJECT, AND ON A PLAQUE BESIDE THE MONUMENT. METAL BOXES IN WHICH THE ARCHIVE WAS STORED. JOIN US IN CREATING THIS LANDMARK MONUMENT! CONTACT: AGNIESZKA DULĘBA [email protected] MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT: HTTP://SZIH.ORG.PL/EN/PROJEKTY/COMMEMORATION-OF-THE-RINGELBLUM-ARCHIVE/ ACCOUNT: THE ASSOCIATION OF THE JEWISH HISTORICAL INSTITUTE OF POLAND BANK PEKAO SA 53/57 GRZYBOWSKA ST. 00-950 WARSAW BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER: PL87124062471111000049756324 SWIFT CODE: PKOP PL PW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE PROJECT ALSO THROUGH: PAY PAL.