Evening of remembrance dedicated to Jews and Righteous from Wolomin

KJ, 16 November 2016
On 19th October, the residents of Wołomin remembered the past inhabitants of their city. An event took place at the Municipal Cultural Centre dedicated to the history of the Jews of Wołomin who, before the War, constituted a large section of the population at that time.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the liquidation of the Wołomin ghetto. In December 1939, 3,000 Jews were imprisoned within it and, in October 1942, they were transported to the Treblinka death camp. The Friday evening of remembrance was entitled  ”The Forgotten Inhabitants” (Zapomniani mieszkańcy) was was dedicated to their memory.

The Mayor of Wołomin, Ryszard Madziar, was patron of the event and stressed how important it is to remember the city’s multicultural past and to respect what has remaiined.

Vivid recollections of Jews in pre-War Wołomin, texts by Krystyna Kwapiszewska and Zdzisław Michalik, were read by the young actors Wojtek Urbanowski and Karolina Mazur.Notes evoked memories of actual residents of the city – shopkeepers, doctors or craftsmen.

Klara Jackl, of the ”Polish Righteous – Restoring Memory” project of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, presented a historical outline of the Jewish community of Wołomin and of their wartime fate. She also told stories of saving Jews from the Holocaust in Wołomin.

The evening concluded with a musical presentation entitled ”Memories of the Shtetl”, performed by Polish artist Eliel as Mendy Cahan, a director, actor and singer from Israel.

The event was accompanied by a photographic exhibition of pre-War Wołomin sourced from Dawny Wołomin (www.dawny.pl).