Why Volunteer?

Strangers of different nationalities, ages, religions and professional backgrounds come together each summer at the Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery to try to “right a wrong.” Here’s what motivates them.

Testimonials

“I feel a moral obligation to be here. I think a measurement of one’s culture is how you treat old people, how you treat children, and how you treat cemeteries.”

Andrzej Kondej

Poland

Marketing Strategist

Testimonials

”Just the physical work of painting stones is like meditation. Your mind calms down and you can think about everything that surrounds you – about the Jewish culture, about what happened to the people here. I don’t think in our daily lives that we have those moments really often.”

Rebecca Ricker

Germany

Student, ASF

Testimonials

“I really feel at home in Bialystok. I really feel a connection. I try to concentrate on the fact that my family once walked here – and that the people who murdered them no longer are alive. I don’t really expect to find my family’s stones, but I want our work to remind people that 50% percent of this city was once Jewish and it was a very vibrant community.”

Amy Degen

Massachusetts, USA

Holocaust Educator

Testimonials

“It’s very inspiring volunteering with so many people from different cultures. My family history is Polish, French and German. For a long time, the Germans were enemies of the French and the Germans have been enemies with the Poles. When people from different backgrounds get to know each other as people, reconciliation happens. I’m proud to be a part of this.”

Daniel Żamojduk

Germany

Student

Testimonials

“I’m from Jerusalem volunteering with people from Germany and Poland. The most important part for me is to make the connection between our three nations and talk about what happened. Understanding each other’s stories and family histories – and how we each perceive the history of the Holocaust and World War II.”

Ofir Balzilay

Israel

Student (AFS)

Testimonials

“In just one day here, we put 61 stones back where they belonged. And all the stones were in the same area, so it looked like a mini-skyline had popped up where there was nothing before. It’s sort of ironic to say that a cemetery is coming back to life, but in a spiritual way, it is.”

Nathan Shafner

Connecticut, USA

Attorney

Testimonials

“In this cemetery, we see inscriptions in Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Old Prussian, German and Polish. Restoring every letter matters. Every letter contributes to the story of the people we are honoring. By re-erecting fallen and vandalized stones, cleaning and painting them, we are adding their names once again to our living memory.”

Heidi Szpek

Washington, USA

Professor Emeritus Central Washington University

Testimonials

“The stones that are no longer here bother me even more than the ones that are here and have been damaged. Removing the stones doesn’t remove the cemetery. My ancestors and many people’s ancestors are still buried here. I can say Kaddish over this whole cemetery, but I sadly can’t say Kaddish over the tombstones of my family.”

Mark Halpern

Pennsylvania, USA

Genealogist

Testimonials

“Everytime we reset a fallen headstone, we’re returning that person to a place of honor. Their family went through the trouble of putting up that monument as a memorial and we’re making sure they are not forgotten. We’ve seen people show up here while we are working and say, ‘Those are my grandparents.’ There’s plenty more work to do.”

Peter McDowell

Oregon, USA

Retired Land Surveyor

Testimonials

“It’s truly a spiritual experience being here. My grandparents came to America from Bialystok, so it’s especially meaningful helping to restore this sacred place. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity.”

Iva Gardner

Pennsylvania, USA

Retired Teacher

Testimonials

“There’s nobody else to do this work unless we do it. It’s time to stop looking the other way. When I’m cleaning a stone, I always try to get a translation and learn a little bit about the person to make a connection. I say a prayer to give them more respect than they have been given here.”

Karen Gannon

Massachusetts, USA

Medical Professional

Testimonials

“You don’t have to be Jewish to care about this place. It’s inspiring to see volunteers from many backgrounds come here to show compassion and restore light and beauty back to the souls who are buried here.”

Alia Degen

Virginia, USA

Implementation Specialist

Testimonials

“I would love this cemetery to become a place where people one day come to take walking tours, to see the beautiful inscriptions on the gravestones, and learn about how Bialystok was once one of the most important centers of Jewish life in Europe.”

Howard Flagler

Massachusetts, USA

Sales Executive

Testimonials

“Our biggest reward is meeting someone in the cemetery searching for one of their loved ones, and seeing them find a grave that we restored earlier. Nothing in my mind and soul can give me more happiness than reuniting someone with their lost relatives and restoring dignity to their family heritage.”

Josh Degen

Massachusetts, USA

Business Owner

Testimonials

“Righting a Wrong means making things whole again. We all have family. I would hate to think that somebody might come and try to destroy a loved one’s final resting place and pretend that they never existed. We need to fix what was once destroyed by some very cruel people.”

Paula Flagler

Massachusetts, USA

Retired Teacher

Testimonials

“I have family roots here. It’s tough to understand how some people can be cruel enough to destroy a cemetery. I’ve been in towns in Poland where you now can’t find any Jewish stones at all. Bialystok is a place where we have the power to do something, a chance to put some of the broken pieces back together.”

Jan Braunholz

Germany

Filmmaker

Testimonials

“We need to take care of this place. Bialystok used to be a hub for Jewish culture. If we want to fully understand the history of our country and what it means to be Polish, we need to remember the full story, the story of our neighbors who also took part in building this country.”

Jakub Popławski

Academic Researcher (AFS)

Poland

Testimonials

“It’s super important to stand up for people who can no longer stand up for themselves. Volunteering here helps make sure that their memory isn’t lost, that the Jewish community here isn’t forgotten.”

Ali Flagler

New Hampshire, USA

Software Developer

Meet Our Volunteers

Amy Degen

Treasurer

Massachusetts, USA

Josh Degen

Chair

Massachusetts, USA

Dr. Heidi Szpek

Vice-Chair, Translator/Historian, Webmaster

Washington, USA

Dr. Andrzej Rusewicz

Site Coordinator / Procurement

Bialystok, Poland

Frank Idzikowski

Volunteer Photographer

Washington, USA

Dr. Andrzej Końdej

Site Coordinator / Procurement

Bialystok, Poland

Howard Flagler

Founding Officer, Vice-Chair 2016-2023

Massachusetts, USA

Paula Tye-Flagler

Founding Officer, Clerk 2016-2023

Massachusetts, USA

Ali Flagler

Volunteer

New Hampshire, USA

Alia Degen

Volunteer

Virginia, USA

Waldemar Mierzejewski

Site Coordinator/ Procurement

Bialystok, Poland

In Memoriam

1953-2020

Daniel Zamodjuk

Volunteer

Germany

Peter McDowell

Volunteer

Oregon, USA

Iva Gardner

Volunteer

Massachusetts, USA

Karen Gannon

Volunteer

Massachusetts, USA

Nathan Schafner

Volunteer

Massachusetts, USA

Piotr Zaściański

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Mila Vergonjeanne

Volunteer

Krakow, Poland

Daniel Paczkowski

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Dr. Bill Brostoff

Volunteer

California, USA

Paweł Romaniuk

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Dr. Jakub Popławski

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Tomasz Świderski

Volunteer / Web Support

Bialystok, Poland

Dr. Adam Kabziński

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Dr. Tomasz Wiśniewski

Volunteer / Film Maker

Bialystok, Poland

Dr. Magda Trybulska

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Jolanta Konstańczuk

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Alan Hoch

Volunteer

Massachusetts, USA

Filip Szczepański

Volunteer / Rabbinic Commission Representative

Warsaw, Poland

Haley Bomal

Volunteer

Massachusetts, USA

Vivianne Schill

Volunteer

Massachusetts, USA

Sharon Blattner Held

Volunteer

Wisconsin, USA

Krzysztof Kulig

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Agnieszka Dąbrowska

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Ofir Yosi Barzilay Vituly

Volunteer

Jerusalem, Israel

Carol Mannen

Volunteer

Oregon, USA

Pearlson Family

Volunteers

Israel

Jan Madera

Volunteer

Germany

Łukasz Murawiejski

Volunteer

Bialystok, Poland

Barry Vinik

Volunteer

New Mexico, USA

Barrett Douglas Kane

Volunteer

New Jersey, USA

Seth Grosz

Volunteer

New Jersey, USA

Suzanne Grosz

Volunteer

New Jersey, USA

Ken and Paula Arbit

Volunteers, Documentation

Jerusalem, Israel

Michel and Jakub Dworakowski

Volunteers

University of Bialystok

Bialystok, Poland

Charlie Cohn

Volunteer

California, USA

Leslie Sutcliffe

Volunteer

California, USA

Michael Yellin

Volunteer

Massachusetts, USA

Brian Yellin

Volunteer

Massachusetts, USA

Neka Vladimirow Elizabeth Glina Volunteers

Suffolk University Massachusetts

Vivian Miranda

Volunteer

Mainz, Germany

Karolina Zysk

Volunteer

University of Bialystok

Bialystok, Poland

Veronika Kobzaruk Marcin Rytel

Volunteers

University of Bialystok

Bialystok, Poland

Tsvi

Volunteer / Mystic

Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery

Bialystok, Poland

Read about "August with Tsvi"

Lisa Porter

Volunteer Massachusetts, USA

Deborah Arbit

Volunteer New Jersey, USA

Aniela Staszewska Ewelina Gorbacz

Volunteers Poland

Rabbi David Kudan Amaya Anderson Madison Hardy Kate Reynolds Prof. Barbara Adams Volunteers

Suffolk University Massachusetts

Alden Solovy

Volunteer Jerusalem, Israel

Randi Cohen

Volunteer Virginia, USA

Bill Coblenz

Volunteer Virginia, USA

Aleksandre Ciborowska

Volunteer Bialystok, Poland

Karen Garb

Volunteer Massachusetts, USA

Jolanta Konstanczuk

Volunteer Bialystok, Poland

Unnamed Volunteers

For all those who dedicated their time and energy but were not captured in a photo!

Feel free to contact us and send on a photo:

[email protected]