On July 30, 2025, the Taube Center hosted a special TJHTalks online session dedicated to one of Warsaw’s most significant sites of Jewish memory: the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery.
As one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe, Okopowa is not only a place of burial but also a vital portal to the rich Jewish life that once flourished in Warsaw. The cemetery tells the story of a community that nearly reached 350,000 members before WWII. Matzevot (tombstones) of rabbis and scholars, writers and artists, Bundists and Zionists, educators, and leaders reflect a diverse and vibrant cultural legacy.
The session featured three distinguished speakers:
- Franciszek Bojańczyk, Global Outreach Coordinator at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. A Warsaw University graduate and co-founder of the Muzeum Kamienicy project, Bojańczyk specializes in Jewish heritage, urban history, and spatial storytelling. He has worked as an educator and guide for POLIN, the Jewish Historical Institute, and the Taube Center.
- Dr. Katarzyna Person, Director of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum and expert on Jewish history in Poland during the Holocaust and immediate postwar years. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of London and served as editor of the complete Ringelblum Archive. Her recent publications include “Warsaw Ghetto Police” and “Przemysłowa Concentration Camp.”
- Witold Wrzosiński, Director of the Okopowa Cemetery and co-founder of the Foundation for Documentation of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland. A Hebraist and genealogist, he has overseen the indexing of over 100,000 tombstone inscriptions and leads conservation and archaeological work on site.
Moderating the session was Helise Lieberman, Director of the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning. Lieberman is a longtime educator and cultural bridge-builder, who has lived and worked in Poland since the early 1990s.
The discussion explored the historical significance of the cemetery and its continuing role as a site of education, reflection, and cultural preservation.
For those who missed the live event, the full recording is available here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=QC1dgZ696mM
