Nowy Sącz
The Holocaust Victims Memorial Square in Nowy Sącz: 11,966 names. Nowy Sącz has joined the cities that commemorate victims by name, such as Amsterdam, Vienna and Paris.
The Memorial Square
The Popiela Family Foundation funded the construction of the Holocaust Victims Memorial Square in Nowy Sącz. It was designed by the architect Paweł Kurzeja with Zuzanna Kurzeja and the Art Studio team. Construction was carried out by Erbet, and the tablets bearing the names were made by Leksan LDM.
Almost 30 volunteers worked on the list of names. The project’s historians were Artur Franczak, who also supervised the construction voluntarily, and Łukasz Połomski.
Accounts
The project cost 580,000 złoty. Construction work: 270,000 złoty. The letters of remembrance, that is 11,966 names together with the tablets: 206,000 złoty. The remainder covered, among other things, the opening ceremony, hosting the descendants, the Emanuel Ringelblum plaque at the Jan Długosz Secondary School, four outdoor exhibitions and educational panels.
The project was supported by, among others, the Ledor Wador Foundation (150,000 złoty), the Forum for Dialogue and Guardians of Remembrance. The square has received its building acceptance.
A word from the president
“We showed that without central funding and without large institutions it is possible to create something exceptional. From the grassroots, as a community, we showed that nothing is impossible.” (Dariusz Popiela)
Guardians of memory
- Artur Franczak and Łukasz Połomski
The project’s historians. Artur Franczak also supervised the construction voluntarily and documented the progress of the work.
- Łukasz Połomski
Główny historyk projektu, odpowiedzialny za listę ofiar i kontakty z potomkami. Od lat przywraca pamięć o sądeckich Żydach, inicjator wielu upamiętnień w regionie.
- Artur Franczak
Od lat zaangażowany w przywracanie pamięci i odkrywanie nieznanych wątków historii sądeckich Żydów. Społeczny kierownik budowy, dokumentował postępy prac.
- Wolontariusze Sądeckiego Sztetla i Fundacji Centrum
Działając wspólnie, doprowadziliśmy projekt do szczęśliwego końca. Miejscem pamięci opiekują się miasto Nowy Sącz, Szkoła Splot, Fundacja Centrum i Sądecki Sztetl.
Timeline
From the pre-war community to the present day.
Jewish Nowy Sącz
On the corner of Sobieskiego and Lwowska streets stands the house of Kalman Sieradzki, one of the best-known confectioners of Nowy Sącz.
The April Action
At the cemetery on ul. Rybacka the Germans murdered 300 people, and another 100 in the ghetto.
The project in Nowy Sącz begins
The Emanuel Ringelblum plaque at the Jan Długosz Secondary School
The opening of the Memorial Square
11,966 victims were commemorated by name.
A walk through the site
5 pointsapprox. 1,8 km on foot79 min including stops
Jan Długosz Secondary School
In March 2022 the foundation unveiled a plaque here dedicated to Emanuel Ringelblum, founder of the underground archive of the Warsaw Ghetto. Around 200 people, students and guests, attended the lectures about him.
Blog fundacji: Rocznica Akcji Kwietniowej ul. Franciszkańska
On 28 April 2022, the 80th anniversary of the greatest crime in the history of Nowy Sącz, a remembrance roll call was held here. 300 candles were lit: the number of people the Germans murdered on 28 April 1942 at the cemetery on ul. Rybacka.
Photograph of this point in preparationHolocaust Victims Memorial Square
11,966 names engraved on tablets. The square was designed by the architect Paweł Kurzeja with Zuzanna Kurzeja and the Art Studio team and opened on 28 August 2022. Almost 30 volunteers worked on the list of names.
Blog fundacji: Pamiętamy Synagogue
The synagogue at ul. Berka Joselewicza 12, a few minutes’ walk from the Memorial Square.
fot. MOs810, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons Jewish cemetery on ul. Rybacka
On 28 April 1942 the Germans murdered 300 people here, and then killed another 100 in the ghetto, in their homes and on the streets. It was the greatest crime in the history of Nowy Sącz.
Photograph of this point in preparation
Gallery
List of names
11,966 names are inscribed on the tablets of the Memorial Square.
Biographies
The stories of individual people and families, researched by the foundation and published on its blog (in Polish).
A love story from the town hall tower in Nowy SączBerta, a Jewish girl from Nowy Sącz, survived the liquidation of the ghetto hidden by Stefan Mazur in the clock room of the town hall tower.
Kalman Sieradzki, Nowy SączThe tenement house on the corner of Sobieskiego and Lwowska Streets belonged to Kalman Sieradzki, one of the best-known confectioners in Nowy Sącz.
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.