Kraków Jewish Cemeteries
Photo Project

Despite the extensive damage and desecration of Kraków's Jewish cemeteries during World War II, several hundred gravestones remain, and are still in reasonable condition. As a result, many Jewish tourists and students visit these cemeteries to see and photograph — not only the graves of Torah luminaries such as the Remuh — but also to look at many of the remaining gravestones. (The tombstone of the Remuh is probably one of the most–photographed Jewish tombstone in Eastern Europe.)

In view of the numerous visitors to Kraków's Jewish cemeteries, an ambitious project is now being launched to photograph as many of the remaining stones as possible. Anyone can participate, and the photos, as well as the tombstone details, will be made available to all via the Internet. The procedure is simple:

• If you intend visiting Kraków, first print out a copy of this form to take along.
• Upon visiting the cemetery, simply take full-frame photos of, say 5 to 10 tombstones (i.e., the tombstone only, without any posing tourists!).
• Make a note of where in the cemetery the graves were located. (an approximate description will do).
• If the photos are taken by digital camera, send the photos via email to the cemetery photo coordinator.
• If the photos are taken with film, contact the coordinator to obtain a mailing address.
• All photos will be indexed and listed on the Kraków website.

If you intend to visit Kraków — as an individual or as part of a group such as ShtetlShleppers — please consider partaking in this project. It requires very little effort, but is of enormous help in genealogical research. Just imagine how many photos can be taken by a single tourist group of twenty or thirty people!