Embassy Official Participates in Jewish Cemetery Commemoration in Kraśnik

Monument honoring the lives of Jews who lived in Kraśnik before perishing during World War II

On October 18 Counselor for Public Affairs Frank Finver attended a ceremony at the Jewish cemetery in Kraśnik (Lubelskie region of Poland) unveiling a new monument honoring the lives of Jews who lived in Kraśnik before perishing during World War II and who comprised up to half of Kraśnik’s population.  Monika Krawczyk, CEO of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland, led the ceremony which included remarks by local officials and Helene Bald, a member of the family that helped organize the construction of the monument.  The ceremony concluded with prayers by Bishop Mieczysław Cisło and Jewish Rabbi Symcha Keller.  Guests got to meet with Michael Nash, a 95 year-old Holocaust survivor who — along with more than 700 fellow Jews – was imprisoned in the Nazi labor camp in Będzin during World War II.

The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland was established in 2002 by the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland and the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO). Their primary mission is to protect and commemorate the surviving sites and monuments of Jewish cultural heritage in Poland.