Overview
- Brief Narrative
- 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.
- Date
-
creation:
approximately 1850-1899
recovered: 1989
use: after 1939 September
- Geography
-
use:
Jewish cemetery;
Turek (Poland)
use: Organization Todt local headquarters; Konin (Poland : Powiat)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Muzeum Okręgowe w Koninie
Physical Details
- Language
- Hebrew
- Classification
-
Jewish Art and Symbolism
- Category
-
Jewish ceremonial objects
- Object Type
-
Jewish sepulchral monuments (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- 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.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 19.000 inches (48.26 cm) | Width: 18.000 inches (45.72 cm) | Depth: 3.500 inches (8.89 cm)
- Materials
- overall : sandstone, paint
- Inscription
- front, center, carved : Hebrew [nun peh; po nikbar, Here Lies]
front, lower edge, engraved : Hebrew text
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Turek. Jewish cemeteries--Desecration--Poland--Turek--History--20th century. Jewish cemeteries--Destruction and pillage--Poland--Turek. Offenses against religion--Poland--Turek--History--20th century. World War, 1939-1945--Cemeteries--Desecration--Poland--Turek. World War, 1939-1945--Cemeteries--Destruction and pillage--Poland--Greece.
- Geographic Name
- Poland--History--Occupation, 1939-1945.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The tombstone fragment was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990 by the Muzeum Okregowego W Koninie.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 18:21:24
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn3505
Also in Muzeum Okregowego W Koninie collection
The collection consists of two paintings from the Kolo synagogue and six tombstone fragments from the Turek Jewish cemetary.
Desecrated, broken tombstone with carved crown from Turek Jewish cemetery
Object
Broken headstone carved with a crown 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.
Desecrated, broken tombstone with carved candelabra from Turek Jewish cemetery
Object
Broken headstone carved with a candelabra with candles, traditionally used to mark a woman's grave, 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.
Desecrated, broken tombstone with carved Torah scroll from Turek Jewish cemetery
Object
Broken headstone carved with a Torah scroll, indicating the grave of a reader of the Torah, Kohen 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.
Desecrated, broken tombstone with carved bookshelf from Turek Jewish cemetery
Object
Broken headstone carved with a bookshelf filled with books, indicating the final resting place of a scholar, 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.
Desecrated tombstone in 2 sections with carved scrollwork from Turek Jewish cemetery
Object
Broken headstone carved with a pair of hands symbolizing the tribe Kohen 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.
