Memory, nature and worship – the place of the Jewish cemetery in Bródno in the future of Warsaw

Event program

On June 23, 2024, the event "Memory, nature and worship - the place of the Jewish cemetery in the future of Warsaw" took place.

In light of the very unclear future of the cemetery in Bródno, the aim of the event was to gather a group of people who could be considered partners in the fight of the Jewish community to preserve the entire area of ​​this particular Jewish cemetery - both the constantly threatened historic burial places, as well as the overgrown and devastated area within its walls.

The first part of the meeting took place on the premises of the Jewish cemetery itself, where for over 2.5 hours members of the Board of the Jewish Community, the cemetery management staff explained all the difficulties they encounter in undertaking the necessary tasks, such as documenting, preserving and commemorating, in maintaining this place - the burial place of over 200,000 Jews and over 40,000 tombstones.

After a detailed visit to the cemetery, the group met at our partners’ headquarters in the Praga Cultural Center (a local cultural institution), where a long discussion took place on ideas for preserving in some way both the material heritage and the so-called Fourth Nature – the forest growing over the cemetery, while maintaining the tourist and traditional religious functions of this place. The discussion ended in great success, as the proposals for cooperation and support were very insightful for the hosts of the meeting and future cooperation was established.

The event was attended by, among others, representatives of the district office, conservators of monuments, as well as the management of two important Warsaw cultural institutions – the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute and the Warsaw Ghetto Museum – both important voices of support in problematic situations concerning Jewish heritage in Poland.