On October 2, during the 7th Days of Jewish Culture residents of Mińsk Mazowiecki could participate in a historic walking tour of the Jewish sites of the town. The walk featured the unveiling of four plaques marking the life and history of the local Jewish community and four short theatre pieces inspired by each location and prepared by local high school students who had been studying local Jewish history in preparation for the performance. The event was organized by Katarzyna Łaziuk and an informal group of allies called “Bliscy i oddaleni” and was co-financed by a Forum for Dialogue grant.
The four plaques remind passersby of the old Jewish cemetery, the ghetto, the yeshiva, and the synagogue of the Old Mińsk. Each of the stone plaques was adorned with a floral motif symbolically connected to its location: a broken tree, a star of David made of tangled roots, a branch of black pepper, and a pomegranate. The walk and accompanying ceremonies were attended by many residents of Mińsk. As she was presenting the plaque with the Star of David marking the ghetto, Katarzyna Łaziuk explained the motivations driving her and the “Bliscy and oddaleni” group: “We are not commemorating a place of death, we are commemorating the people who lived here.”
Check out the photos from the event.
