The last leg of our journey takes place in the small town of Brzesko. One might wonder what brings some Americans to Brzesko of all places in Poland. Well, interestingly enough, there is an old Jewish cemetery that has existed in the town since 1824 but was for the most part abandoned by the end of the war. This was because most of the Jewish residents of the town either fled the nazis or were killed by them. One Holocaust survivor remains in the town to this day. The cemetery was largely forgotten and untreated. Tombstones fell over and some were stolen. Trees and plants consumed the cemetery being a primary perpetrator of knocking over and even burying some tombstones.
Thankfully in recent years, some people began to care about the cemetery. Some people have devoted countless hours into not just restoring the cemetery but also getting the town to care about the well-being of it. It’s a difficult task all in one. We came to spend a few days moving branches and chopping up bushes.
Normally, I’m not a big fan of doing physical labor but this was different. We were doing a good deed. I had all the energy and strength in the world to work on this project. I spent most of my time cutting away the bushes and fighting through the thorns and ticks. Several hours were spent chopping and carrying away but it was all worth it. At one point, I uncovered a buried tombstone. God knows how long it’s been buried under roots and dirt. The heartbroking part was that the writing on the tombstone was no longer legible. The memory of a person who once lived here is potentially gone forever. We may never know where they rest or who they were.
Time flew while working in this cemetery. I just felt motivated the whole time to work hard at clearing things up in hopes that the cemetery may one day be properly restored. It is a lot of work that requires many people to help with a lot of time available to do so. There is work being done to get local high school students involved. I hope they become inspired to do so. It’s not the most ideal work but it’s good work.
There were moments that had me really upset though. At some point, some tombstones were vandalized by terrible people. The two I remember was on one where a cross was spray painted and it said “Satan Jew.” How classy... Another tomb had spray painted on it “Free Palestine.” The irony being that the individual died before Zionism was a thing. I don’t care who you are or what you believe, but leave the dead alone! I wish people had more respect for the dead.
The time in Brzesko is short but I think entirely worthwhile. When people travel to Poland, they typically go to Warsaw and Krakow but that’s not how majority of Poles live. Most live in the calm countryside. It can be argued that that is the real Poland. As our time wraps up in Brzesko, I am thankful for the time spent on the opportunity to do a good deed. This is something where the recipient cannot repay me or even thank me, and that is okay. Weirdly enough, the opportunity to clean the cemetery to the best of my ability was reward enough. I got to bring sunlight back onto some tombstones and help clear bushes away so that they can be seen. That is all I wanted out of this. Back in Charlotte, our cemetery is well-kept and regularly maintained so it can be easy to be unappreciative of what that work really does. I’ve gotten to see the massive difference between well-kept cemeteries and forgotten cemeteries. There is a lot of work to be done and there are great people stepping up to the plate.
We can only hope they succeed.
~Noah Goldman
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