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Mausoleum of Jewish Fighters for the Independence of Poland

Poland
2018
conservation
cemetery, conservation works, Jewish, mausoleum, Okopowa, Powązki, Warsaw

o projekcie

You’re welcome to visit our new website presenting the Jewish Cemetery:

http://www.cmentarzzydowski.pl/ 

The Mausoleum of Jewish Fighters for the Independence of Poland is found at the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw on Okopowa (known as the cemetery on Gęsia before WWI), established in 1806 on the initiative of the Jewish Community in Warsaw. The very idea of constructing the mausoleum came in 1938 from the authorities of the Jewish Community in Warsaw.  The originators of the concept wanted the place to commemorate Jewish soldiers taking part in campaigns and battles of particular significance to Polish history and to the common Polish-Jewish identity. It was to be a site to revere the memory of the fallen Kościuszko insurgents, Napoleon’s soldiers, November and January insurgents, so-called Great War soldiers, and Jews fighting in the years 1918-1921 in the ranks of the Polish Armed Forces for the independence and the borders of the Republic of Poland. Berek Joselewicz, officer of the Polish Legions in Italy, and Henryk Wohl, Director of the Treasure in the National Government in the January Uprising, were to be commemorated in a special way.

The idea to build the mausoleum is attributed to Maurycy Mayzel, who acted as the commissar-president of the Jewish Community in Warsaw.  The designer of the site – Marcin Weinfeld – was appointed by open competition. His design was different from other submissions, but the decision-makers approved his concept eventually. The planned construction works started from removing the grave markers from the area of the future site and building an earth rise. Main works commenced in 1939 – with the builders managing to construct the concrete-brick structure of the mausoleum. But they did not manage to finish their work because of the coming of war, which changed everything.

2018

The conservation and restoration of the mausoleum are a very important objective and a big challenge for the Foundation. The project involves finishing the original per-war undertaking of the Jewish Community in Warsaw. These are the first works performed on this site since the outbreak of WWII.

In 2018, the task was carried out thanks to the resources granted as part of the project entitled “Renovation of the Mausoleum of Jewish Fighters for the Independence of Poland at the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw”, financed by the PKO BP Foundation.

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