We turn to you asking for financial support of a project to raise a monument and at the same time a gravestone for more than 200 Jewish citizens of Krościenko on Dunajec. The idea of such a commemoration was born among the activists of the Shtetl of Tsanz, historical programme realized within the Nomina Rosae Foundation.

We plan to raise a granite monument on the Jewish cemetery in Krościenko (on Dunajec river) in southern Poland. The monument will have over 200 names of people murdered during the Holocaust carved in it. It will be possible thanks to a surviving list of names written down during the war by the Jewish community and Judenrat, which includes the names of people murdered until August 1942 as well as the names of people sent to the death camp in Bełżec and labor camps. A surviving list such as this is very rare. Putting the first and last names of the victims on the monument will allow us to draw them out of oblivion and bring back the identities that the murderers wanted to take away along with their lives.

The message of the monument will be strengthened by its uniqueness in Podhale region, where there is no commemoration such as this, even though the fate of the Jewish people of Podhale was particularly dramatic. The cemetery in Krościenko itself was stripped bare of the gravestones – only two matzevot exist today.

The Jewish population settled in Krościenko in the 18th century. In the 1920s it comprised more than 12 percent of local population. The outbreak of the Second World War brought about its dramatic annihilation.

The creation of the monument together with the fencing around the cemetery and a plaque dedicated to the Jewish people of Krościenko will amount to around 26 000 PLN (~7 400 USD) We are trying to collect the sum by seeking out donor support and applying for grants. The need to commemorate the forgotten victims of Krościenko in Podhale region and the meaning of their memory are something we feel very strongly about. By erecting the monument and putting their names on it, we will bear witness to history and commemorate people, who had their existences taken away, after whom all traces were almost obliterated.

More details about the project in words of Dariusz Popiela, member of the official Polish olympian canoeing team and coordinator of the project on project’s website at Pomagam.pl website: https://pomagam.pl/8eecrztf
You can also send your donations to PL15 1050 17222 1000 0024 1204 4741 (ING Bank Śląski). Every donation, even the smallest ones are greatly appreciated! You can also jointhe event on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/398396407264587/

To all donors and supporters of the project we say: thank you very much!
The Nomina Rosae Foundation and the Shtetl of Tsanz activists