Grybów
On 20 August 1942 the German occupiers liquidated the ghetto in Grybów, where around 2,000 people had been confined. On 3 November 2019, after 77 years, 1,774 victims were remembered by name.
20 August 1942
On 20 August 1942 the greatest tragedy in the history of the Grybów area took place. As part of Operation Reinhard, the German occupiers began to liquidate the Grybów ghetto. Around 2,000 people had been confined there: Jews from Grybów, people displaced from nearby villages and from spa towns such as Krynica-Zdrój and Muszyna.
360 people were shot in the nearby village of Biała Niżna. The others were driven on foot to Nowy Sącz and then taken by train to the Bełżec extermination camp, where they were murdered in the gas chambers.
The ceremony of 3 November 2019
The memorial was unveiled at the Jewish cemetery in Siołkowa/Grybów. Those present included the Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich, Rabbi Avi Baumol, Rabbi Boaz Gadka, Monsignor Ryszard Sorota, descendants of families from Poland, the United States, Israel and the Czech Republic, experts from the Rabbinical Commission for Cemeteries, and schools with their banner parties: the Siołkowa Primary School, Primary School No. 1 in Grybów and the Grybów Secondary School.
What has been achieved
All 1,774 victims are commemorated on the memorial. The foundation hosted descendants and organised the first gathering of the families since the war. The cemetery was restored and two mass graves were found; they were protected and commemorated with a “Matzevah of Remembrance”.
A path now leads through the whole cemetery, from the memorial to the victims of the Holocaust to the mass graves, and educational panels have been installed. More than 120 people from Poland and abroad supported the project.
Guardians of memory
- Wojciech Głowacz
The person most involved in caring for the cemetery. He initiates meetings with young people, gives tours of the synagogue and keeps alive the memory of the town’s former neighbours. He works closely with our foundation and also helps with projects in other towns.
- Jolanta Kruszniewska
A graduate in Polish and Jewish studies at the Jagiellonian University and a doctoral student in its Faculty of History. Her research includes the history of Galician Jews, the multilingual Jewish press and Hebrew gravestone inscriptions, as well as the micro-history of her home region.
- Anna Boruch
Born and raised in Grybów, devoted to local history. The great-granddaughter of the cemetery’s pre-war caretaker, she has been connected with this place since childhood.
- Kamil Kmak
A Grybów local historian and founder of SAGA, the Social Archive of Grybów. Co-author of “The Horse Adjutant”, a book about the Holocaust survivor Leon Schagrin. From more than a dozen sources he compiled a list of over 2,500 names of Grybów Jews.
Timeline
From the pre-war community to the present day.
The Jewish residents of Grybów
Drawing on more than a dozen sources, Kamil Kmak compiled a list of over 2,500 names of Grybów Jews who lived in the town from the 19th century until 1942.
The liquidation of the ghetto
Around 2,000 people in the ghetto. 360 were shot in Biała Niżna; the others were deported to Bełżec.
The first clean-up of the cemetery
On the initiative of Kamil Kmak, the Jewish cemetery in Grybów was cleared.
Annual commemoration in Biała Niżna
Each year Kamil Kmak and the Sądecki Sztetl commemorate the anniversary of the mass murder.
The unveiling of the memorial
After 77 years, 1,774 victims were remembered by name.
A walk through the site
3 pointsapprox. 1,5 km on foot49 min including stops
Market Square
The walk begins in the town centre. On 20 August 1942 the Germans liquidated the Grybów ghetto, where they had confined around 2,000 people: Jews from Grybów, from nearby villages, and from Krynica-Zdrój and Muszyna.
Photograph of this point in preparationFormer synagogue building
The building of the former Grybów synagogue stands a few steps from the Market Square. The foundation will describe its history in future materials.
fot. Henryk Bielamowicz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons Jewish cemetery and the memorial with 1,774 names
The memorial bears the names of 1,774 victims and was unveiled on 3 November 2019. When work began, a forest stood over the mass grave and nothing pointed to the tragedy. Experts from the Rabbinical Commission for Cemeteries located the site; around 120 people shot in 1942 lie here. A path leads from the memorial to the mass graves.
Blog fundacji: Zmiany w Grybowie
.jpg){kind=link}
Gallery
List of names
The 1,774 names are inscribed on the memorial.
Biographies
The stories of individual people and families, researched by the foundation and published on its blog (in Polish).
Biographies of people from this place are in preparation.
Listen
Narrated recordings for this place are in preparation. Each will have subtitles and a full transcript.
Guide to the site
A single A4 sheet to print: a short history, the address and coordinates, a QR code for navigation, guidance on conduct at the cemetery and the foundation’s contact details.