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Restoration of Jewish Cemeteries
in Poland
Exchange of letters compiled by
Irena Bellert
28 January 2003
From the Web editor
We wish to encourage readers
who are concerned about the Restoration of Jewish cemeteries
in Poland to write letters to editors@polish-jewish-heritage.org.
As an example of what can be achieved by writing us
your own letter, you will find below a file containing
an exchange of letters between Viktor Lewin and myself,
with some relevant attachments. In these letters
you will find important LINKS and some useful information
on what has already been achieved by those who decided
to do something about the restoration of some Jewish
cemeteries in the towns where their ancestors had been
buried. For more information click on www.pjcrp.org
(Polish-Jewish Cemetery Restoration Project). You will
see what you can do if you wish to find people whose
ancestors lived in the town where your parents or grandparents
lived. You will be able to work together with them on
such a project Just write a letter to us or mail it
directly to nweinberg@adelphia.net
Irena Bellert (Web editor)
EXCHANGE OF LETTERS
---- Original Message ----
From: Viktor Lewin
To: editors@polish-jewish-heritage.org
Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 8:05 PM
Subject: Losice, Poland
Shalom,
My name is Viktor Lewin. I am a resident of Winnipeg.
My father spent the first twenty one years of his life
in the town of Losice, Poland ( east of Warsaw ).
Jews had made Losice their home for the last three hundred
and fifty years until the evils of Hitler and Nazism
destroyed all of it. Two months in 1942, August and
November, marked the end of the Jewish community in
Losice.
What remains of the two thousand nine hundred Jewish
souls of Losice ? What remains is a small group who
survived the Holocaust by hiding and/or fleeing. They
and their memories!
There is however one very tangible piece of evidence,
if you will, of the Jewish spirit, and those are the
hundreds of Matzevot which have been lying in the backyard
of a residence within the town of Losice. These Matzevot
were brought here by the Nazis after Jewish Cemeteries
were raided in Losice, Mordy, and Sarnaki, to serve
as paving stones for a courtyard at this very residence.
Three sons of fathers who had once lived within a block
of each other in Losice have decided that these gravestones
have been subjected to disgrace and shame for far too
long. These are the gravestones of our ancestors.
With the assistance of the Jewish Historical Institute
in Warsaw and local authorities we seek to reclaim these
Matzevot in order to honour the long history of Jewish
life in this area. The goal is to reconstruct the old
Jewish Cemetery at it's original site. Three sons: one
in Winnipeg, one in Essex, England, and the third from
Paris, France. Thank you. Peace and health through the
New Year.
Regards, Viktor Lewin.
Dear Mr Lewin,
My name is Irena Bellert, I am the Web Editor of our
Foundation's Web site and the president of the Foundation.
Polish-Jewish Heritage Foundation in Montreal.
Thank you very much for your letter. I would like to
do something about the Jewish Cemetery in Losice. The
first step - I believe - would be to publish your letter
on our Web site Of course I will not publish it without
your agreement. So please reply if you give me your
permission to publish it as it is. It is a beautiful
letter, the objective of your letter will certainly
be appreciated by many of those who visit our Web site
in Poland (if you look at the links on the Web site
you will notice many organizations we collaborate with).
So this is one of the possibilities
If you understand Polish - or you know someone who does,
I suggest you open our Web site in the Polish section,
click on 'Nowe Publikacje' and look for an article entitled
'Spoleczny Komitet Pamieci Zydow Otwockich i Karczewskich'
placed there at the beginning of July. It was the initiative
of the editor in chief of the monthly WIEZ (whom I collaborate
with) to initiate what you would like inhabitants of
Losice to do about the Jewish cemetery in Losice.
I know from him that quite a lot of people joined that
initiative - both Christian Poles and Jews. They already
did some work on the cemetery in Otwock and will continue
to do so.
If you don't want your letter to be published on our
Web site, I can just describe the information your letter
contains and forward it to some of my friends in Poland,
who could be of some help to you. Let me know what you
would like me to do.
All my best - Irena Bellert
PS. I am very happy that I can help by means of our
Web site. Keep me posted - if anything really happens
I would like to publish it as a good example for others.
there are many more such cemeteries in Poland.....
Irena Bellert
Dear Irena,
Please feel free to publish this letter. This is really
somewhat overwhelming to think that just two years ago
a very small number of people knew where Losice was,
let alone, what it was. It was not, as in other cases,
a so-called " Jewish town ", however,up to
the days of the outbreak of the war Jews did make up
the majority of the population ( between 70 to 75% ).
For the next two to three weeks we will be waiting nervously
because Losice will be holding civic elections during
this time. Certainly we would like nothing better then
to have the incumbent Mayor re-elected. When I was there
in August he came across as someone who was well liked
by the townsfolk. Not only is the collaboration between
Jews and non-Jews so important on the local level in
order to bring this proposed memorial project to a fruitful
and positive realization, but it will go a long way
in demonstrating that people can work together to make
a dream come true.
This is a dream for myself, Warren, and Yitzhak who
have sought from the outset to rescue the Matzevot,and
in doing so honour our ancestors from the shtetl of
Losice, Poland.
I thank you for responding to my letter.
With regards, Viktor Lewin.
Dear Victor,
Thanks for your quick reply. Could you tell me how far
is Losice from Warsaw? Which direction from Warsaw?
Is it to the East? What is the nearest big city? You
should tell your friends in Losice (those who have computers
and use the internet) to visit our Web site. It might
be important for the elections that Canadiam Christians
and Jews (members of our Foundation are Jews and Christians)
are interested in the proposed memorial project. They
will also read the text on Otwock and Karczew.Cemetery,
on the work which is being done right now, which is
a wonderful example for Losice. And your letter will
be published on the 1st of October. I may add a snort
paragraph "from the WebEditor" pointing to
the text published two months ago on Otwock and Karczew,
and the positive reaction of both Christians and Jews
.in Warsaw, Otwock and Karczew.. With my best - .Irena
Bellert
Dear Irena,
Firstly,I would like to thank you for adding my letter
to your informative website. Everyone to whom I mentioned
the website was very impressed. Secondly, Otwock is
a tremendous model to follow, and my group will be looking
very carefully at it.
Please stay in touch and/or I will keep you informed
of any developments.
Regards, Viktor Lewin.
Dear Irena,
Thank you, once again, for placing my letter on your
web-site, and may I add what an informative web-site
it is. We ( the group of which I'm part ) cleared a
very major hurdle when we received the blessings from
the Losicher Landsleit in Israel to continue our work
. Now we shall begin our fund-raising, so when spring
comes work can commence.
Regards, Viktor.( viklewin@shaw.ca )
Dear Victor,
It sounds just wonderful. Can you tell me if indeed
the Losicher Landsleit in Israel found the information
on our Website?
Dear Irena,
My colleague on this mission, Yitzhak Eisenberg is the
son of an ex-Losicher who lived in the same house as
my father in pre-war Losice. I alerted Yitzhak to your
website. I am sure that he read it, and it probably
came up in their negotiations.
I'm not quite sure how many ex-Losichers are alive and
living in Israel. How ever many there are, we are happy
to have them on board. Regards, Viktor.
Dear Victor, I am happy
I 've contributed to help your group. PLEASE KEEP ME
POSTED -
Irena Bellert
Dear Victor, I just got this letter from Norman Weinberg.
It might be of great interest to you. I am happy that
our Web site becomes more and more useful in many ways.
All my best to you - Irena Bellert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Norman Weinberg" <nweinberg@adelphia.net>
To: <editors@polish-jewish-heritage.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2002 8:56 PM
Subject: RE: Poland Jewish Cemeteries Restoration Project
(PJCRP)
Letter to the Editor of www.Polish-Jewish-Heritage.org
Dear Editors:
Peter Jassem pointed me to your interesting website.
I would like to bring the following to the attention
of your readers.
The PJCRP has two main objectives (See www.pjcrp.org):
1. Restoration, as much as this is possible, of all
the still devastated Jewish cemeteries of Poland;
2. Documentation including photos and video taping of
the story with interviews, the restoration process,
and translations of cemetery monuments, all eventually
posted on the internet.
Our first project was the Ozarow cemetery, started in
May 2001 and
successfully completed just five months later. The story
including
pictures is at www.ozarow.org.
With the help of PJCRP/Shtetl Coordinators, descendants
of Polish villages and towns, we are beginning the process
of restoring, as much as this is possible, about 10
more cemeteries. Funding will come mostly from Jewish
descendants. Please note the list of shtetls, PJCRP
Coordinators and contact persons and the growing number
of organizations, including the US and Polish governments,
supporting these efforts.
Dr. Norman L. Weinberg
JCRP, Executive Coordinator
Shalom Irena,
This is the latest news which I have about the Memorial
Project in Losice after their local elections. Different
Mayor, however, with the same commitment to the Project
as the prior. Please keep in touch. Thank you for your
help ! Please excuse the spelling errors.
With regards, Viktor Lewin.
Attachment to the letter:
From: "Andrzej Omasta" <artsilv@poczta.onet.pl>
To: "Viktor Lewin" <viklewin@shaw.ca>;
"Yitzhak Eisenberg" <y_eisenberg@hotmail.com>
Cc: "Norman Weinberg" <nweinberg@adelphia.
net>
Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2002 1:56 PM
Dear Mr. Eisenberg;
Today, I have visited Losice and met with the new city
officials and with the previous mayor. I have seen the
cemetery grounds and Mr's Wroblewski's house.
1.) Cooperation with the new officials should make no
significant problems.
2.) The City will probable be unable to help us financially.
But this may change.
3.) Local priest declares every help he can give us
both with the cemetery and with the search for some
(….) after Jews from Losice and even documents in
the parish archives.
4.) 1 have found a contact with the family of Mr. Wroblewski
and their law chancelor. Marek Zaborowski +48 82 563
87 27 (unfortunately he was not at home today ? he lives
in Chelm)
Conclusions
1.) The cemetery has no marks of its functions. We must
find the cemetery outline and we need archives to do
that. We can also use the aerial photos that will be
in my possesi0on shortly.
2.) Erecting a monument and a wall may be brought up
after we can finalize point 1.)
3.) Matzewot should be, in my opinion build into the
wall from the cemetery side.
4.1 A monument on the cemetery ground is rather out
of question, because of halaha. We can use a big plaque
instead after making our way with the Rabbi.
5.) We must make a very concrete documentation of the
cemetery (using archives of the local parish)
6.) Getting the matzewot back ? rather no problems as
I have contact with the local Governal Monument Caretaker.
7.) Building a memorable plaque in front of the building
that occupies the place of the synagogue (not far from
Mr. Lewin family home)
8.) Finding contact with the local school.
9.) We must use local teachers and the priest a big
informational action about the Jewish community and
its culture.
10.) Making a documentary about Jews from Losice and
about three people from Losice marked with the Yad VAshem
medal
Best Wishes
Andrzej Omasta
Dear Irena,
You are partly responsible for getting this off the
ground. I am referring to the following: www.zchor.org/losice/losice.htm.
Thank you for posting my article.
Regards, Viktor Lewin.
From: "Norman Weinberg" <nweinberg@adelphia.
net>
To: ",Lukasz Omasta" <snafik@poczta.onet.pl>
Cc: "Warren Ze'ev Grynberg" <Warrentours@aol.com>;
"Viktor Lewin" <viklewin@shaw.ca>; "Yitzhak
Eisenberg" <y_eisenberg@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 8:18 PM
Subject: Re: Losice
Dear Andrzej:
That's great news. I think the Losice Landsleiter will
be very interested and pleased with these new developments.
But what do you estimate the costs will be for us to
do our part?
Very best regards
Norman
---- Original Message ---
From: Lukasz Omasta
To: Norman Weinberg
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 2:30 PIVI
Subject: Losice
On 13.01.03 in Losice we had a meeting concerning retrieval
of the matzevot from the Jewish cemetery and also concerning
the future of the cemetery.
1.) After taking the matzevot from their site at Mickiewicza
2, they will be moved to a place where they could be
under
continuous surveillance.
2.) The Council will present us with a list of companies
to do that.
3.) The matzevot can be placed on the grounds of the
Losice City Society, but with no actual surveillance
and our own responsibilty.
4.) Whole works connected with taking the stones away
will be run under watch of the PJCRP representative
and a
worker from the local Monuments Caretaker.
5.) All the works . will be done as inventorization
works led by the Wojewoda Council and at THEIR cost.
6.) At the ground of the park of XX years, will be placed
a plaque with full help of Jewish Historical Institute
Association
7.) After we finish this part of the works we can move
further.
Norman, this agreement will help us save around $8,000
and will force the Monument Caretaker Office to participate
in our project. We could accomplish all of that only
thanks to the work done by Mr. Lewin, Mr. Eisenberg
and other people from the Losice Landsmanshaft - Andrzej
Dear Irena,
You are extremely supportive. You may include my latest
e-mail to you sent on the 18th of January. This was
in response to an e-mail which I received on the 16th.
The original message was from Mr. Omasta, field coordinator
for the Poland Jewish Cemetery Restoration Project,
to Dr. Norman Weinberg regarding the Losice Project.
I will send this as a Word Document.
Thank you Irena.
With regards, Viktor Lewin.
Dear Viktor, thank you, I am very pleased with the news.
Would you like me to publish your last e-mail? What
about my placing one longer file on NEW PUBLICATIONS
with our exchange of letters from the beginning up till
now - including Norman Weinberg's letter to me, in which
his program for the cemetery restoration is presented?
It would serve as a perfect example for others to follow...
Dear Irena,
Thank you. Anything legal to help the cause. Yes, go
ahead and include all or any information which you think
would be useful.
With regards, Viktor.
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