topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2252.19 -0.81
DAX 6736.16 -0.78
IBEX 30 8843.4 -0.66
CAC 40 3407.85 -0.49
FTSE 100 5879.46 -0.27
AEX 322.91 -0.68
DJIA 12890.46 0.05
Nasdaq 2927.23 0.39
FTSE MIB 16617.9 -0.22
TSX Composite 12497.94 -0.18
ASX 4322.6 -0.79
Hang seng 20783.86 -1.08
Straits Times 2956.44 -0.83
ISEQ 20 501.51 -0.44
You are here: Home News European News Polish prisoners to renovate Jewish cemeteries

European News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


03/07/2009Polish prisoners to renovate Jewish cemeteries

The Polish prison service has signed an agreement with the national Polish-Jewish heritage foundation that enables prisoners to volunteer for conservation work.

Warsaw -- Polish prisoners are to do conservation work in disused Jewish cemeteries, Poland's penitentiary service said Thursday.

Prisons spokesman Ireneusz Mucha said the service had signed an agreement with the national Polish-Jewish heritage foundation enabling prisoners to volunteer.

The foundation estimates that about 1,000 cemeteries countrywide need work. The occupying Nazi Germans destroyed many Jewish graveyards during World War II.

"The voluntary, unpaid work will be run with local authorities or Jewish communities. The advantages will go both ways, because the foundation will also provide courses in history and tolerance for the prisoners," Mucha told AFP.

The plan involves more than a dozen penitentiaries across Poland.

Two initial projects will see the building of a memorial in a cemetery in Radom, south of Warsaw, and the renovation of a graveyard in Zwierzyniec in the southeast.

Jews first emigrated to Poland from western Europe to escape 11th century pogroms.

On the eve of World War II, Poland was home to around 3.5 million Jews, representing around 10 percent of the country's population and Europe's largest Jewish community.

Half of the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany were Polish. Most perished in camps set up in occupied Poland such as the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau.

In 1945, Poland's surviving Jewish population numbered just 280,000.

Many emigrated to the United States or Israel immediately after the war or during waves of anti-Semitism under the communist regime in the 1950s and 1960s.

According to various estimates, there are about 3,500-15,000 people who identify themselves as Jewish in Poland today, out of a total population of 38 million people, more than 90 percent of whom are Catholic.

AFP/Expatica


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

English in Belgium

ascent of language in belgium

Family in Belgium

Question about summer program/camp in Belgium

Healthcare in Belgium

How to find a good Physio and optometrist?

Jobs in Belgium

IFAs / FSIs / Country Managers / Confidential Introducers

Housing in Belgium

Flatmate Wanted as from mid February – SPACIOUS DUPLEX/PENTHOUSE

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Looking for work in Belgium

Looking for work in Belgium

This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes how to write a CV, application procedure, interview dos and don'ts, Belgian management culture.

Practical, easy-to-use, free and... in English

Practical, easy-to-use, free and... in English

Belgium’s first alternative directory assistance services - available through the shortcode 14-14 - can now be accessed on the internet.

Finding a rental home in Belgium

Finding a rental home in Belgium

Moving to Belgium presents a host of challenges to expats, not least of all finding the right home.

Learning to cope with life abroad

Learning to cope with life abroad

The psychological effects of global mobility can be physically painful.