European Heritage Days in Mszana Dolna – Guided tour at the Jewish cemetery

On 15.09.2024, as part of the European Heritage Days, our Sztetl Mszana Dolna Foundation organised a guided tour of an important and one of the few monuments in the town, the Jewish cemetery on Zakopiańska Street. This is the second oldest relic and oldest historical place in our town. This necropolis is also practically the only trace of the Jewish community of Mszana Dolna. 

The presenter, President of the Foundation, Urszula Antosz-Rekucka, began by familiarising the participants with the terminology of Jewish cemeteries, the most ancient descriptions of burials in the Bible, burial customs in Judaism, methods of commemoration, types of gravestones and rules of conduct at Jewish memorial and cult sites.

The history of the cemetery was mentioned, with its wartime and post-war devastation and the efforts to save it. Here an important figure was one of the few survivors of the mass execution of Jews at Pańskie, Leib Gatterer, founder of the fence. The fact that the Mszana cemetery was entered in the National Register of Historic Monuments in 1989 was also important.

During a walk through the cemetery, participants were able to see the oldest and most “recent” tombstones there, the most interesting of the few that survived, and admire the effects of the restoration of the first 4 matzevot. Another topic was about inscriptions, ornamentation and symbolism of Jewish tombstones.  Participants also learned a few stories related to the dead resting there, including those murdered during the occupation, for whom our Foundation erected a common matzeva 2 years ago.

We hope that some interesting facts, such as the acronymic inscriptions on the matzevot or the context of the symbol of remembrance in Judaism, which is the stone laid on the tombstones, as well as personal memories, enriched the listeners in our story about the cemetery.

At the end, participants placed the memorial pebbles, recited Psalm 16 and a short prayer from the inscription that customarily concludes the lettering on the gravestones: ‘May their souls be bound in a knot of eternal life’. Those wishing to do so were also presented with copies of a monograph on the cemetery published by our Foundation.

The visit to the cemetery was also part of the third edition of our educational project ‘The Story of the Jewish Cemetery in Mszana Dolna’.

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage within the framework of the National Heritage Institute programme – Together for Heritage National Heritage Institute

In Judaism, a mitzvah (a good deed) to the dead is of greater value than an equivalent deed to the living, as the former have no way of repaying us. This is all the more reason for us to pay tribute to the people who offered their time on this Sunday afternoon to remember our former fellow citizens, to care for their memory with us, to take care of our common heritage!

Photos by Rachela Antosz-Rekucka, Marek Rekucki