Object structure
Title:

Jewish Cemetery at Gwarna Street (former Claassenstrasse) in Wrocław: Excavation Report from 2017 and Opportunities for Rescue and Commemoration

Creator:

Limisiewicz, Aleksander ; Kichler, Jerzy ; Jabłońska, Agnieszka

Publisher:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences ; Polish Academy of Sciences. Łódź Branch

Place of publishing:

Łódź

Date issued/created:

2023

Description:

ill. ; 29 cm

Type of object:

Journal/Article

Subject and Keywords:

Wrocław ; Breslau ; Jewish cemetery ; mass grave ; pottery ; archaeological excavations

Abstract:

Excavations in the area of the former Jewish cemetery in Wrocław at Gwarna Street (formerly Claassenstrasse) have been undertaken many times, most recently in 2017. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the cemetery has been subject to urban encroachment which gradually reduced its historic area, forcing two exhumations, followed by devastation in the 1940s under the Nazi regime. The cemetery was formally liquidated in post-war Poland, in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time, the remaining tombstones were removed and part of the area was built over. In order to develop the areas covered by the earlier exhumations, exploration works were carried out to identify the exact area. In 2017, burials from the cemetery were discovered during construction works. Excavations carried out in 2017 revealed seven individual burials, a mass grave with 115 burials in wooden cases, and 5 mass graves from WWII. Within the cases, fragments of pottery from the 18th and 19th centuries were found. The authors discuss the history of the cemetery, details of the 2017 excavation report with analysis, and current efforts to protect and commemorate the area.

References:

Atlas – Atlas historyczny miast polskich 4, Śląsk 13. In: Wrocław. R. Czaja (ed.). Wrocław.
Buśko C. 2005. Wrocław u progu lokacji. In: C. Buśko (ed.), Wschodnia strefa Starego Miasta w XII–XIV wieku. Badania na Placu Nowy Targ. Wrocław, 177-194.
Goliński M. 1997. Socjotopografia późnośredniowiecznego Wrocławia. Wrocław.
Grotte A. 1927. Alte Schlesische Judenfriedhöfe. Berlin.
Jabłońska A. 2019. Re-mapping and Re-constructing: Spatial Dimension of the History of Breslau Jews on the Example of the 18th Century Jewish Cemetery on Gwarna Street in Wrocław, Poland (former Claassenstrasse in Breslau, Germany). Unpublished MA dissertation. Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg.
Kichler J. 2017. Agonia cmentarza czyli rzecz o wrocławskim kirkucie. “Midrasz” 2017(4/198), lipiec/sierpień, 30-42.
The Koren Mesorat HaRav Kinot, The Complete Tisha B’Av Service with Commentary by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. OU Press 2010.
Lewin L. 1926. Geschichte der israelitischen Kranken-Verpflegungs-Anstalt und Beerdigungs-Gesellschaft zu Breslau, 1726-1926: Ḥevra ḳadisha, 5486-5686. Breslau.
Limisiewicz A., Mruczek R. 2010. Fara św. Marii Magdaleny na tle przemian przestrzennych wczesnego Wrocławia. In: B. Czechowicz (ed.), Śródmiejska Katedra: kościół św. Marii Magdaleny w dziejach i kulturze Wrocławia. Wrocław, 55-136.
Markgraf H. 1896. Die Straßen Breslau nach ihrer Geschichte und ihren Namen. Breslau.
Sendyka R. 2021. Poza obozem. Nie-miejsca pamięci – próba rozpoznania. Warszawa.
Stawiarski B. 2010. Cmentarze Żydów aszkenazyjskich w średniowieczu. Przykład Wrocławia. In: K. Wachowski (ed.), Średniowieczne i nowożytne nekropole Wrocławia 1. Wratislavia Antiqua 12, 261-290.
Szwed R. 2004. Wczesnonowożytna ceramika naczyniowa z ulicy św. Antoniego we Wrocławiu. In: J. Piekalski, K. Wachowski (eds.), Wrocław na przełomie średniowiecza i czasów nowożytnych. Materialne przejawy życia codziennego. Wratislavia Antiqua 6, Wrocław, 31-381.
Wodziński M. 1996. Hebrajskie inskrypcje na Śląsku XIII-XVIII wieku. Wrocław.
Ziątkowski L. 2000. Dzieje Żydów we Wrocławiu. Wrocław.

Relation:

Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae

Volume:

36

Start page:

119

End page:

134

Resource type:

Text

Detailed Resource Type:

Article

Format:

application/octet-stream

Resource Identifier:

0860-0007 ; e-ISSN: 2719-7069 ; doi:10.23858/FAH36.2023.006

Source:

IAiE PAN, call no. P III 348 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P III 349 ; IAiE PAN, call no. P III 368 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

eng

Rights:

Creative Commons Attribution BY 4.0 license

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. [CC BY 4.0] May be used within the scope specified in Creative Commons Attribution BY 4.0 license, full text available at: ; -

Digitizing institution:

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Access:

Open

×

Citation

Citation style: