ABSTRACT
In 1952, Maria Kozaczkowa, a local poet from the town of Dąbrowa Tarnowska in southern Poland, composed a poem, titled: Stara bożnica (The old synagogue): In a small town across from the cemetery An old synagogue stands desolate: The mere sight of it strikes one with grief and dismay, ……………………… It still remembers the insane cry of mothers Who carried their children to their death, And the scream that returned in a multi-mouthed echo From the empty houses of the ruined ghetto, And it cries now with its blind windows Gazing at the cemetery of those murdered. W małym miasteczku naprzeciw cmentarza Stara bóżnica stoi spustoszała: Już sam jej widok smuci i przeraża, ...................................... Ona pamięta dotąd płacz obłędny Matek, co na śmierć niosły swoje dzieci, I krzyk, co echem powracał stugębnym Z pustych już domów, w zrujnowanym Getcie, I teraz płacze ślepymi oknami Wpatrzona w cmentarz tych—pomordowanych. 1 The synagogue in Dąbrowa Tarnowska, 2007. The synagogue was renovated in 2012 thanks to a seven million euro grant from the EU. It functions today as a historical museum and cultural center. Photo by Anna Hudyka. Courtesy of the photographer. A deteriorated historic building with arched windows and crumbling columns, surrounded by a fenced area and a bus stop in the foreground. https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003719960/e3b2750f-743a-44b1-8f8b-2dbf0c9b404e/content/pg142_Image_5.tif"/>
