Dariusz Walerjański

Since 1989 I have been personally involved in caring for Zabrze’s Jewish cemetery, working on a regular basis to maintain the site in a decent condition. Throughout the year I organize volunteer, maintenance and documentarian works at the cemetery, with the assistance of schoolkids from local secondary schools and a few volunteers who are willing to assist me in maintaining the site. We work together to keep the cemetery alleys clean and dispose of waste. To the best of our abilities, we try to put up overturned headstones to identify who is buried in which plot. We conduct small repairs that do not impact the heritage character of the necropolis. Each year on November 1 [All Saints’ Day and an important bank holiday when Poles visit graveyards], together with the volunteers I organize a fundraiser and invite donors to participate in a guided tour of the cemetery. 

Obtained funds are used for purchasing the necessary gardening equipment, covering waste disposal fees, hiring a professional mowing company or publishing an info booklet on the cemetery’s history.  Throughout the year, I monitor the cemetery’s condition, as it is sometimes “visited” by vandals or thieves of precious stone matter. I personally show around anyone interested in learning about the local Jewish community through a visit at the cemetery or I provide them with a key for an individual walk through this Jewish garden of memory.