Jerzy Dębiec

My motivation for learning about Jewish culture came from the bizarre stories I heard about Jewish religion and traditions. I was told, for example, that Jews would be buried in a sitting position, or that they would kill little girls to use their blood to make matzot. Skeptical of these revelations, I decided to do my own research and verify this information. Another reason to study the topic was my membership in Nowy Żmigród Appreciation Society. The society’s statute obliges us to protect the heritage of our region and the Jewish heritage is an integral part of the local pre-war history. The idea to establish a museum with a separate room about Jewish culture, additionally motivated me to study the history and culture of Nowy Żmigród Jews. Thanks to the wonderful people I met who were willing to support my queries, I became convinced this topic should be studied in-depth. I head the Community Center in Nowy Żmigród. My position allows me to cooperate with many different people and institutions on many different levels to commemorate the Jewish heritage. In my free time, I am a devoted social activist and president of Nowy Żmigród Appreciation Society. My interests include World War I, The January Uprising of 1863, Confederacy in Bar and preservation of heritage buildings. Sport is my hobby, I play table tennis.

I was deeply involved in the establishment of the local Center of Documentation and History of Żmigród Region – Leon  Karciński Museum. The museum was opened in July 2016. Based on the agreement with its owner, Foundation for the Preservation of the Jewish Heritage in Poland, I am responsible for maintenance of the Jewish cemetery in Nowy Żmigród. Its area is 2 ha and boasts around 1000 tombstones. Every year we organize an ecumenical prayer – Catholics, Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Jews all pray together at the mass grave of Jews murdered in the Holocaust. I have also organized Jewish Culture Days, we renovated the tombstone at the mass grave and honored the victims, I also initiated Polish-Israeli youth meetings and supported School of Dialogue projects both in Nowy Żmigród and Krempna. I can proudly say that my efforts to preserve local Jewish heritage have met with support of the local community. I am happy with what I have achieved; saving Jewish culture from oblivion and promoting it among the young generation and tourists makes me proud. Thus, I show descendants of Nowy Żmigród Jews from around the world that there is someone here taking care of their culture and treating it as his own.

Activism