By MICHAEL SCHUDRICHand MONIKA KRAWCZYK

On Aug. 27, Serock, a smalltown in central Poland,located at the beautiful

Narew river, witnessed a quiteuncommon event in its rural com-

munity: a gathering of determinedmen and women, includingAmerican and Polish dignitaries,joining in common purpose tounveil a monument at the site ofthe town’s former Jewish ceme-tery to honor and remember theJewish community in Serock,most of it eviscerated by theGermans during the Holocaust.Only a handful of the more than4,000 Jews living in Serock in1939 survived the catastrophe.

In Sefer Zikaron Serock, a com-memorative book published in the1960s, the site was described thisway: “The old and new cemeterieswere located three kilometers out-side of the city, on the road toPultusk (past the large sawmill)and in the glow of the clear riverNarew. The area belonged to thecommunity but the administrationwas in the hands of the BurialSociety. In the cemeteries, thebones of our dearest ancestorsfrom approximately 150 years agowere buried. At the time when thecommunity was destroyed [inDecember 1939], the German van-dals destroyed the graves and usedthe tombstones to build highways.The cemetery was [ploughedunder], and they planted grassthere, and shepherds tended totheir flocks there. The cemetery iserased, without any trace at all.”

After the war the state of disre-pair continued, as the Jewish com-munity of Serock had ceased toexist. The cemetery was no more,and the whole area was zoned byPolish communist government as“recreation area” and allocated fora nearby “hotel.”

When Poland became a demo-cratic country, positive changesbecame possible. In 1997 a lawwas passed which allowed theJews of Poland to protect Jewishcemeteries. The problem was thatJewish cemetery in Serock was

one of at least 1,200 sites, andthere are only nine Jewish com-munities spread throughoutPoland. About that time, sometombstones were discovered dur-ing nearby road construction andwere brought to the cemetery site.The new challenge was to find thefunds to restore it.

In 1998 the descendants of theSerock Jews who’d survived thewar and the U.S. Commission forthe Preservation of America’sHeritage Abroad carried out acommemoration project in thenearby Wyszkow Jewish ceme-tery. Since the two towns werehistorically connected, many for-mer “Vyshkovers” shared familylinks to Serock, and by then theidea of a Serock cemetery com-memoration had been conceived.

This project had to wait until2014 to be realized. The legal,administrative and technical sideof the undertaking was handled byThe Foundation for thePreservation of Jewish Heritage inPoland (FODZ), which was work-ing hand in hand with theRabbinical Commission onCemeteries. Chief Rabbi ofPoland Michael Schudrich wasconsulted to ensure proper treat-ment and protection of the burialground. Special team ofresearchers, surveyors and rab-binic selected the location of thenew monument, which was builtjust outside of the historical burial

grounds. The work to legally reg-ister and then determine theboundaries of the historical prop-erty, should some funds becomeavailable for this purpose, willeventually lead to the constructionof a fence around the whole area.This new monument (and futurefences) will bear witness to itsglorious Jewish past and our jointcommitment to remember.

Remembrance was the centralsubject of the speeches made onthat Aug. 27. In our eyes, the eventrepresented more than just placinga new memorial on hallowed

ground. It was an act of re-dedica-tion of the cemetery. We want thedignity returned to this site. Evenwithout physical presence of theJews living in the town, the bonesalone will declare the Jewishbelief in universal values, includ-ing respect for past generations.

Among those who attended theceremony were Stephen Mull, U.S.Ambassador to Poland; LeeSeeman, member of the U.S.Commission for the Preservation ofAmerica’s Heritage Abroad, lead-ing a U.S. delegation; MichaelSchudrich, chief rabbi of Poland;Piotr Kadlcik, president of theUnion of Jewish ReligiousCommunities in Poland; MonikaKrawczyk, Director of theFoundation for the Preservation ofJewish Heritage in Poland, as wellas local authorities.

The ceremony witnessed also amoving reunion of Holocaust sur-vivor Dina Albert, born DobaDrezner in Serock, with StanislawGasiorowski, son of the Polishfamily that saved her during the

war. Both were 13 years old whenthe war began. Gasiorowski, whoattended the ceremony with histwo daughters and their husbands,offered warm words to Dina's fam-ily, which also was present. Dinaand Stanislaw easily communicat-ed in Polish, remembering thetragic days of their youth.Stanislaw said that his parentsviewed every human as someonewith dignity, and noted that thoughthey were afraid of the deathpenalty imposed by the Germanson Poles caught assisting the Jews,this did not deterred them fromproviding shelter and food to sixJews. Dina related how she’d methim on a road while was walkingbarefoot and crying that she hadno place to go.

Dina’s granddaughter, 16-year-old Hannah Albert-Chapness,whose bat mitzvah project hadbeen to help raise funds for themonument that was unveiled atthe cemetery on that day, spokeon behalf of the descendants of

Remembrance Etched in StoneHonoring the destroyed Jewish community from Serock, Poland

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 Jewishcommunity can enable us to finally pay the proper respect to our ancestors and their graves.

(Above): Gathering of dignitaries at the site of the former Jewish cemetery in Serock,Poland. Lee Seeman, a North Hempstead town councilwoman and a member of theU.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, is at right.(Above, right): The ceremony unveiling a monument at the site to honor and remember the Jewish community of Serock, which was mostly destroyed during theHolocaust. (Right): The monument up close.

We want the dignity returned to

this site. Evenwithout the

physical presenceof Jews in the

town, the actionwill speak to theJewish belief inuniversal values,including respect

for past generations.

FIRST PERSON

16 JEWISH WORLD • SEPTEMBER 5-11, 2014

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os: (

c) F

OD

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Serock. She said that her presencethere, representing the newest gen-eration, is a guarantee that the pastshall never be forgotten.

The new monument includes astone structure in which sur-

viving tombstones were placed,and bears an inscription, whichreads in part: “This area compris-es the Jewish Cemetery of Serock.Jews were buried here from the18th century until 1939, whenNazi German forces ordered thatall traces of the cemetery be oblit-erated. For many years, the grave-stones on the wall were piled upon a nearby site. This memorialpays tribute to a once vibrantJewish community and honoursthose citizens of Serock who weremurdered in the Holocaust solelybecause they were Jewish.”

The event was a powerful exam-ple of how people working togeth-er great thing may be achieved by

working together, contributingfunds, skills and know-how forone common goal.

Many Jews abroad are discour-aged when they see visual evi-dence of neglected burial sites,their earnest passion to do some-thing notwithstanding. The suc-cess of the Serock project is evi-dence that we can save our ceme-teries. Goodwill and benevolencefrom the U.S. together with pro-fessionalism and sensitivity fromthe Polish Jewish community canenable us to finally pay the prop-er respect to our ancestors andtheir graves.

“Lo alecha hamlacha ligmorve’lo ata ben chorin lehibetelmimena” — “You are not requiredto complete the task, yet you arenot free to withdraw from it”(Pirkei Avot, 2:21).

Michael Schudrich is the chiefrabbi of Poland and the JewishCommunity in Warsaw. MonikaKrawczyk is a lawyer and CEO ofthe Foundation for the Preservationof Jewish Heritage in Poland(www.fodz.pl).

The army and the State of Israelreap benefits because we are takingan “at risk” population that has themotivation necessary to succeed butoften lack the support to do so. Weprovide that support by treating thelone soldiers as members of anextended family.

Lone soldiers often go on tobecome community leaders whobetter the lives of Israelis at homeand abroad. Over the past five years,we have seen hundreds of such suc-cess stories. A prime example is thechairman of our board of trustees,Michael Oren, the historian who justrecently completed his tenure asIsraeli ambassador to the U.S.

How has the war in Gazaaffected the Lone Soldier Center?

Operation Protective Edge hasposed a tremendous challenge to usand was very heartbreaking. Threelone soldiers, Max Steinberg, SeanCarmeli and Jordan Bensemhoun,

all members of our family, werekilled. We’ve had dozens of lonesoldiers injured, and have been withthem and their families in and out ofhospitals and rehabilitation centers.We pray for the speedy recovery ofall of the soldiers still hospitalized.

The support and appreciationwe’ve gotten from not only theentire Israeli population, but also theentire Jewish world is heartwarming.

To learn more about the center,visit www.LoneSoldierCenter.com.

Alonecontinued from previous page

The New York Board of Rabbis recently hosted a solidarity mission to Israel. Themission included a visit with lone soldiers. NYBR Executive Vice President RabbiJoseph Potasnik is at left, and Congressman Peter King (R-N.Y.) is third from left.

SOLIDARITY MISSION

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18 JEWISH WORLD • SEPTEMBER 5-11, 2014