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Eyewitnesses Report That Vandals Virtually Destroy Jewish Cemetery in Cracow

May 1, 1969
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Details of a recent desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Cracow, which Polish authorities sought to suppress, were disclosed by the eyewitnesses here today. They said the cemetery, which is currently used by the Jewish community, was not only desecrated but virtually destroyed. Some 200 gravestones were overturned and smashed and a monument to Jewish martyrs was severely damaged. According to the eyewitnesses, the destruction was caused by an organized band of about 200 vandals who descended on the burial ground at night. When authorities were notified, they placed a heavy guard around the cemetery to prevent passersby from viewing the damage. The story was kept out of the Polish press and off radio and television.

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