The Jewish Center in Oswiecim
Dateline: 11/19/98Before the Holocaust, the town of Oswiecim, Poland had a strong Jewish community with twelve synagogues. With the advent of the Final Solution and the construction of the Auschwitz death camp within Oswiecim, the Jews of Oswiecim were gathered in the square in front of the Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue and herded to their deaths.
Now, over fifty years later, the building that once housed the Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue (and has since had various uses - most recently used as a carpet warehouse) was given back to the Jewish community in March 1998. Fred Schwartz, the president of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation, described his visit to Auschwitz several years ago by saying,
The namelessness and facelessness of all those victims really struck me. There was almost no Jewish indication and no presence anywhere in the vicinity of these camps.*The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (a non-profit organization based in New York) decided to renovate the building and reopen it as a symbol of Jewish life in a place that for so long has symbolized Jewish death.
In July 1998, I had a chance to visit the Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue. There are two buildings that are attached, the one on the left is the synagogue.
The building on the right used to belong to Hirsch Kornreich and his family (Hirsch is the only survivor of his 144-member family).
Both the synagogue and the attached house will become the Jewish Center in Oswiecim. Though currently still being restored, the synagogue was re-dedicated on November 10, 1998.
At the ceremony, survivors, rabbis, and dignitaries from around the world joined the celebration as Rabbi Haskel Besser placed mezuzahs on the synagogues' door-frames. The creation of the Jewish Center will create a place for all to learn about what once was a place of life.
For more information about the Jewish Center or for information about making donations, contact:
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Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation 36 West 44th Street New York, New York 10036 Phone: (212) 575-1050 Fax: (212) 575-1051 |
* Fred Schwartz as quoted in Bob Keeler, "Picture of Life Amid Horrors," The New York Newsday 16 June 1998.
All photographs © 1998 Jennifer Rosenberg
