Polish volunteers have helped save the Jewish cemetery in the Polish town of Dobrzyn nad Wisla, which was flooded when the Vistula (Wisla) river overflowed its banks, according to accounts in Israel Hayom and Arutz Sheva. The flooding had disturbed graves and exposed human bones.
The reports state that the work is carried out by volunteers under the auspices of the Mimaamakim (From the Depths) project, headed by Johnny Daniels, a non-profit described as operating in Poland and Israel to “preserve Holocaust memorials and sites, including concentration camps, and to fight neo-Nazism.”
The cemetery is located on the riverside north of Warsaw, between Plock and Wloclawek. Israel Hayom reports that Polish volunteers who work with Mimaamakim notified Daniels this week that “construction on infrastructure in the area” had caused the river to shift.
Following the construction work, the river overflowed and the water made its way to the old Jewish cemetery nearby, causing serious damage to tombstones, and in some cases flooding graves and causing skeletons to resurface and be washed into neighboring fields.
Daniels reached out to his friend, the deputy speaker of the Polish parliament and to the town’s mayor, who came to see the damage himself. The three turned to the authorities for help, but were informed that it is against Polish law to move human remains.
The articles report that Poland’s Chief Rabbi, Michael Schudrich, had organized bringing the exposed bones to Warsaw, where they were reburied in the Warsaw Jewish cemetery.
Read the full Arutz Sheva story here
Read the full Israel Hayom story here
2 comments on “Volunteers help save flooded Jewish cemetery in Poland”
Same here! I am a scion of the Wygoda (Vigoda) family that originate from there. I’d be very interested if any tombstones are still extant. Thanks.
I found this article more than interesting as my Goldman and Lejba ancestors including my grandfather, Henry Goldman 1900-1953), were from Dobrzyn nad Wisla. All the information that i have been able to gather online indicate that the cemetery had been completely destroyed and no tombstones existed. This was found on several Polish Jewish website. I found a photo of the cemetery site and all that existed was grass along the river. I would very much like to find out if this cemetery really does still exist. That would be a great genealogical discovery!!