Volunteers

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, USAIn Memoriam1951-2024
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 Memoriam1953-2020
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 BialystokBialystok, 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 BialystokBialystok, Poland
Veronika Kobzaruk Marcin Rytel
Volunteers
University of BialystokBialystok, Poland
Tsvi
Volunteer / Mystic
Bagnowka Jewish CemeteryBialystok, PolandRead 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:bagnowkaphotos@gmail.com
Lisa Kleinmann
Volunteer Ohio, USA
Suffolk University Students 2025
Volunteers, Boston, MA USA
Amy Joyce
Volunteer, VA, USA
Rabbi Shoshanah Tornberg
Volunteer, PA USA
Arthur Haberman
Volunteer, MA USA
Marie Parezella
Volunteer, PA USA
Crane Crew 2025 Gabriel (Bialystok), Yuri (Ukraine), Jakub Zadynowicz (Bialystok)