For more than a dozen years, Urszula Antosz-Rekucka, a Leader of Dialogue from Mszana Dolna, works to preserve the memory of Jews who once lived in and around her town. She is the person behind local residents’ successful appeal to have the site of the former synagogue, destroyed in 1942, commemorated with a plaque funded by local authorities and outlining the history of the Mszana Dolna Jews, including the synagogue, the rabbinic family, and the Jewish library.
She was also the recipient of a Forum for Dialogue scholarship intended to help her organize a visit of descendants of Mszana Dolna Jews to Poland and participation in the 78th Anniversary of the Extermination of the local community. Though due to the global pandemic the visit had to be postponed, the ceremony to commemorate those who perished was organized thanks to the help of the local authorities. The residents of the town first honored the memory of Jews murdered and buried in mass graves, followed by a song composed by Urszula, and a Kaddish read in Hebrew and Polish by her husband, Jakub. Later the participants of the ceremony commemorated the heroism of Stefania and Józef Wacławik, Righteous Among the Nations, who helped save Maurycy Jared during the war. They planted the Oak of Memory in the town square and placed a plaque outlining this history next to it.
The ceremony was attended by many Mszana Dolma residents, as well as representatives of local authorities, while the event was covered in local media. Please visit the Mszana Dolna Shtelt website to see archival materials and updates on the activities dedicated to the preservation of the memory of the local Jewish community.
