August 19, 2022: The Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund secured permission from both the Chief Rabbi of Poland and The City of Bialystok, under careful supervision by the Commission for Jewish Cemeteries of Poland, to excavate and recover matzevoth and human remains from a mound on unused land adjacent to Bagnowka Cemetery. These matzevoth and human remains were removed from the Rabbinic Cemetery located in the city center during the 1960s while Bialystok was under Soviet control. This mound, part of Bagnowka, and the surrounding land were used as a park by residents, many of whom knew of its contents. Over 120 burial markers were carefully recovered, removed, photographed, and catalogued before being transferred inside Bagnowka’s walls for temporary safekeeping. Human remains were placed in burial shrouds with a formal burial conducted on Bagnowka Cemetery under the supervision of Rabbi Itzhak Rapoport. A memorial is being planned near the original location in the city center. Please read Dr. Szpek’s report on this work, “August with Tsvi”, at
jewish-heritage-europe.eu/cemeteries/resources/essays-and-op-eds/jewish-cemetery/