SEROCK, Poland (JTA) – A Holocaust memorial was erected in the Jewish cemetery in Serock, Poland.
The town of Serock is located some 25 miles north of Warsaw and has a population of about 4,100. No Jews currently live there.
The Jewish cemetery in Serock, which served as a burial place from the 18th century, was destroyed during World War II. The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland and the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad helped to build the memorial and rededicate the cemetery.
The dedication of the cemetery memorial and the rededication of the cemetery took place on Wednesday. The memorial is made up of headstones toppled during World War II, which were discovered lying in a pile next to the cemetery.
“One of our most sacred duties is to keep the memory of the crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II. So it could never happen again,” Stephen Mull, U.S. ambassador to Poland, said during the ceremony. “The monument in Serock is an important symbol of American support for the Polish efforts to ensure that no one ever again has to be a witness or a victim of the terrible crimes that took place here in Serock and many other cities and towns in Poland and Europe.”
Hannah Champness, 16, spoke on behalf of the descendants of Serock Jews.She said her hero is her grandmother, Diana Albert, who was taken from Serock to the Warsaw Ghetto.
“When the ceremony ends we will go to our homes. But this monument will remain here,” said Piotr Kadlcik, president of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland. “This monument is a testimony to what once was here in the Jewish community.”
