Rescuing Warsaw's overgrown Jewish graves
Nature has taken over some of Poland's Jewish cemeteries. But a group of volunteers is trying to ensure those buried in them aren't forgotten.
Alicja Mroczkowska, one of the organisers, hands out gardening gloves. We've a choice of rakes and shears for implements. Alicja says the less energetic ones among us can do the railings. She decants black rustproof paint into small pots.
Our little band of a dozen volunteers heads off into Warsaw's main Jewish cemetery, past the statue of Janusz Korczak - the orphanage director who died at Treblinka after he refused to be parted from the children in his care.
Okopowa Cemetery lies behind a high red-brick wall, right in the centre of the Polish capital.
The cemetery is vast. So far, enough of it has been cleared for 82,000 names to be entered into a database. But up to 200,000 bodies may have been buried here in the past couple of centuries.
There are 1,400 Jewish burial places in Poland. Under restitution laws, these are gradually being returned to the Jewish community. But according to the country's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich, there are only 40,000 Jews living in Poland today. There is no money to maintain the graveyards. Hence our little army of plucky volunteers with packed lunches, a wheelie bin and a wheelbarrow.
A white sweat line is edging its way higher and higher up Karol's black cap. We stop for a break. I ask him if he's Jewish. ''I have no idea,'' he says.
Karol is a manager for a children's retail clothing chain. I ask if he takes part in the cemetery clean-ups because of a faint Jewish voice inside himself? ''Maybe. Probably,'' he says.
These are matters that, until recently, were not easily discussed in Poland. The post-war Communist years didn't mark an end to anti-Semitism. The present nationalist government applies so-called "memory politics".
Monika Siwczyk is painting the crumbling art nouveau railings ringing a grand grave on the principal pathway. ''I love Jewish culture,'' says the 43-year-old professional translator. ''It's missing from Poland today.''
Monika, who is blonde and blue-eyed, has been researching her family's history. She points at her tanned forearm. ''Look at my olive skin. I have found a picture of the sisters of my great, great grandfather. We think they were 
A tram bell rings in the distance. It's a sound I might have heard a hundred years ago, when a third of Warsaw's population was Jewish. A group of tourists walk by. They're speaking Hebrew - young Israelis on a school trip.
''I've chatted to some of them,'' says Karol. ''They are visiting Poland to learn about the Holocaust. It's part of their curriculum.''
Karol would like to see the state of Israel contribute to the survival of Okopowa. ''We can only do so much. Even a ruin needs maintaining. But Israel won't help. Israel wants people to go and live there. It considers Poland to be a closed book - history, finished,'' he says.
The volunteers at central Warsaw's Jewish cemetery are fighting a losing battle against the creeping of time and of ivy. But Karol and Monika aren't discouraged. It's their history, too.
In just a few hours, Karol has cleared a section of six graves. He's meticulously raked the ground around them.
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I think this is fantastic! While it's highly unlikely they'll be able to identify all 200,000 graves (if that is a correct number) the fact that they have identified 82,000 is amazing! It give descendants a place to go to see and honor their older relatives that died and to touch their own past.
It is a great gesture of respect and it will help many Jews who have ancestors from the area to help trace or fill in blanks in their family history.
That's a fairly large database already but it will get even bigger . Maybe some relatives will get closure .
Karol would like to see the state of Israel contribute to the survival of Okopowa. ''We can only do so much. Even a ruin needs maintaining. But Israel won't help. Israel wants people to go and live there. It considers Poland to be a closed book - history, finished,'' he says.
That's a shame and (IMHO) wrong of Israel. They can't just close the book on this large a part of Jewish history. I hope they change their attitude on this. I am sure there are many Israelis who could trace their family history through the Jewish cemeteries of Poland and other parts of Europe.
A very worthwhile post, Randy. NT could use a lot more of your good choices these days.
Thank you. I have been making an effort to post articles that are a balance to the "Hillary is a Lesbian" and "Barack cooperates with Islamic terrorist" garbage that is on the front page far too often.
But before anything it has to be an interesting post and I think this one really is.
AN interesting story and also glad you chose to post it. For balance sake it is also much better than the 'Trump is _______' (whatever) stupidity also seen on the front page
Cemeteries are one of my weaknesses. I love them. I'm so glad to read that people care enough to volunteer to bring back the beauty to these graves. I could wander around a cemetery for hours. Reading the tombstones and plaques always leaves me wanting to know the person's story. The sense of love, sorry or pride the family felt.