Desecrated, broken tombstone with carved hands symbol from Turek Jewish cemetery

Identifier
irn3505
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1990.292.3
Dates
1 Jan 1989 - 31 Dec 1989
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Hebrew
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 19.000 inches (48.26 cm) | Width: 18.000 inches (45.72 cm) | Depth: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm)

Archival History

The tombstone fragment was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990 by the Muzeum Okregowego W Koninie.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Muzeum Okręgowe w Koninie

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Scope and Content

Broken headstone carved with a pair of hands with split fingers, symbol of Kohen, or priest and the gesture of blessing, recovered during a 1989 renovation of a building in Konin county, Poland. The tombstones, from the desecrated Turek Jewish cemetery, were broken and used as paving stones for the courtyard of the local headquarters for Organization Todt. This sandstone marker was mass produced in the late 19th century. Poland was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in September 1939. Hundreds of Jewish men from Turek were taken as forced laborers. By January, all Jewish property was confiscated and the remaining Jews were confined to a ghetto. The synagogue was set on fire and destroyed. In October 1941, the ghetto was liquidated and Turek was Judenfrei (free of Jews.) Organization Todt was in charge of road and large scale construction projects, such as factories and fortifications, for the German Reich. By the early 1940s, it controlled over a million workers, slave laborers, war prisoners, and camp inmates.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Top section of a broken, rectangular, gray sandstone grave marker with 2 hands carved within an arch on a textured background, with a Hebrew character carved on each side. The fingers of each hand are spread open into 2 sets of 2 fingers, representing a blessing, and a symbol for Kohen, a descendant of the biblical priest Aaron. Each upper corner has a domed circle with decorative lines. The bottom section has 2 lines of Hebrew text inside a rectangular border. There are traces of red paint on the stone. The bottom edge is broken and jagged.

front, center, carved : Hebrew [nun peh; po nikbar, Here Lies] front, lower edge, engraved : Hebrew text

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.