Kamila Klauzińska

Zduńska Wola

As George Gershwin said: “Life is a lot like jazz… it’s best when you improvise”. This is how the greatest adventure of my life began. The adventure that continues today.

“It was thirty three years ago when a little girl, together with her friends, accidently discovered a secret garden located near her home. She felt drawn to this magic, green place from the very beginning. Mysterious lions, birds and deer lived there among high grass swaying in the wind. The girl wished to understand what they were saying to her, but they would keep silent. She returned to this place as a teenager, a student in a fine arts high school. The secret garden was very inspirational for young artists. Yet the mysterious animals still kept their silence. They finally spoke to her only when many years later she met professor Olga Goldberg from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She revived lions, birds and deer to the young girl”.

Everything that happened after this very important meeting in my life was improvised. This is how I started my journey to improve understanding of our common world, the unknown chapter of history and changes within myself. I have tried to stay actively involved in preserving the memory of Jews of Zduńska Wola and the Jewish cemetery in Zduńska Wola since 1998. Since 2000, together with the descendents of Jews of Zduńska Wola, professor Daniel Warner, Menachem Daum PhD and the Survivor Asher Aud Sieradzki, we have undertaken numerous initiatives: educational, cleaning up, documenting. Together, we managed to revive lions, birds and deer for the current residents of the town. Many of them joined us to perform work at the cemetery, help us with projects, such as reconstruction of the gate to the cemetery, organize many events and competitions for schools during which young people interview their family members about the Jewish Zduńska Wola.

Most initiatives which I was undertaking jointly with the former and current residents of the town, I describe on a blog dedicated to the Jewish cemetery of Zduńska Wola.

At present I focus mainly on genealogical data of Jewish families and  on research of archival documents. My passion became my work.


People often ask me “What is in it for you? No reasonable person would work on a cemetery of foreign culture for free.” My answer surprises many: “I have people.” I always repeat that it was at the cemetery that I have met the most wonderful people. They changed my life, they gave me rose-colored spectacles and let me see the world in different colors. These colors will stay with me forever.

Projects

Kamila Klauzińska

Zduńska Wola

contact: kamila.klauzinska@liderzydialogu.pl