Jewish Cemetery in Karczew, Poland, 2017 (courtesy: Christian Herrmann/vanishedworld.blog)
Most people assume that Poland’s destroyed Jewish burial grounds were desecrated by the Nazis. An expert on Jewish cemeteries in Poland, however, said Polish citizens likely did more damage after the war than the country’s German occupiers.
Called “The Annihilation of Jewish Cemeteries,” author Krzysztof Bielawski’s book available in Polish examines the erasure of Poland’s Jewish cemeteries since World War II. So far, no book has linked Nazi-era destruction to the ensuing decades, said Bielawski, who is seeking Hebrew and English publishers.
“This work disproves a few myths, including the supposed mass destruction of cemeteries during Kristallnacht and a very common saying that ‘cemeteries were totally destroyed by Germans,’” said Bielawski in an interview with The Times of Israel.