The municipal authorities of the town of Zawiercie, in southern Poland, have taken over for free the ownership of the seriously dilapidated former synagogue building and the land on which it stands and plan to restore the building as a cultural center.
“We take over the building and the area for free and ultimately want to create there, among other things, a cultural space conducive to intergenerational integration and a place of memory,” Mayor Łukasz Konarski said in a statement on the city’s web site.
He said the city was applying for funding for a major renovation.
As part of the process, he called on people who had memories of the synagogue as it was before World War II, or who have photos, to get in contact with the city, either through its Facebook page or via email to: [email protected]
The announcement said the ownership transfer to the city resulted from a decision by the governor of the Voivodeship of Silesia, and had come after years of negotiations with the Jewish community of Katowice and Regulatory Commission for Jewish Religious Communities. It said that Mayor Konarski had put in a formal application for the city to take over the building in April 2019.
The synagogue was built in 1880. It was devastated by the Nazis and used after the Holocaust as shops, but has stood vacant and in deteriorating condition for some time.
Recently, students from the local H. Malczewska high school hung a banner with the words “We Remember” in Polish, English, and Hebrew on an exterior wall to recall to local people that the ruined building was once a synagogue.
According to local media, there have been public discussions about what to do with the synagogue.
There were many ideas for developing the building and its surroundings. [Among them] The creation of a museum referring to the industrial tradition, concert hall, reading room, place of music and film workshops {…].
Earlier, representatives of the Zawiercia Youth Forum […] stated that they wanted to create a friendly and accessible place for young people. It was also emphasized that a building should create a cultural space conducive to intergenerational integration.
See announcement on the city’s web site
3 comments on “Poland: Zawiercie town assumes ownership of former synagogue, plans to restore the dilapidated building as a cultural center”
Bonjour, ma famille maternelle BAKALARSKI a vécue à Zawiercie, au 11 rue Nowy-Rynek. Mon grand père était tailleur. Ma maman, Réla BAKALARSKA épouse AKERBERG et son frère Lieb-Joseph sont nés à Zawiercie.
Good news ! ! As far as I know, my grandfather, Yosek Zajonc, who I am named after, was treasurer of this synagogue and he also operated the famous charity “Linat Tzedek” in the town.
I am pleased to hear those news. My father, Romuald Rotenshtein, was born 24.12.912 in Niedniewice . Zawiercie. In 1943 he immigrated to Israel. I was born in Israel. My grandfather, Leon-Leib Rotenstein died 1930 and is buried in the Jewish cemetery of Zawiercie, right near the entrance. I visited there twice. Hope that after restoration is finished, I will visit your town again