From November 3-5 the Isaac Bashevis Singer Cultural Society of Bilgoraj (named after the Nobel Laureate, who was born there) hosted “Remembering the Forgotten,” a commemoration of the 64th anniversary of the liquidation of Bilgoraj’s Jewish Ghetto. On Friday, elderly residents who witnessed the ghetto liquidation discussed their memories and impressions of this tragedy with middle and high school students. Saturday featured a concert of Jewish music performed by a Polish group (Shomer) along with several Israelis who attended the event. One of these is a native of Bilgoraj who fled with his family in 1939. The final event of the weekend took place on Sunday, where a destroyed Torah Scroll was buried in Bilgoraj’s one remaining Jewish cemetery.
At 8:30 am in the freezing rain, we began the treacherous drive in less-than-ideal conditions to Bilgoraj, a town of approximately 25,000 in southeastern Poland. The Singer Society hosted us for lunch, which was attended by the board of the Singer Cultural Society (Vice President Piotr Czarnecki, Treasurer Artur Bara), former Senator Henryk Wujec and Mrs. Wujec, Albert Stankowski of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ), several Israelis with Bilgoraj roots, local businesspeople, and members of Shomer. Then we headed to the cemetery. Rabbi Burt Schuman of Beit Warszawa (an American citizen) presided, and the local parish priest attended and made moving comments as well. Several people with Jewish-Bilgoraj roots attended from the United States and Israel. Both US Embassy representatives, Daniel Gedacht and Beata Milewska, were prominent in the ceremony—I held the Torah Scroll, and both of us shoveled dirt onto the scroll after it was placed in the grave. Local print media covered the event, and the Singer Society filmed it.
Approximately 100 local residents attended under umbrellas despite the cold and wet conditions, a significant number of whom were young adults. In addition to the guests at lunch, the local mayor, a retired senator, the starosta (county prefect) were all present, and the latter laid a wreath on the gravesite. In was a wonderful bridge to the town’s history, which up to the ghetto liquidation in 1942 had always featured a large (up to 50%) Jewish population.
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