Miodowa Cemetery Images
Over the past decade, a unique and industrious researcher, Mr. Beniamin Yaari of Israel,
has - on his own initiative - made numerous trips to Poland to record names from matzeivas
in several Jewish cemeteries in Poland. He has recorded over 6,000 names and dates from
Krakow's Miodowa Street cemetery alone.
In August 2003, a group of 120 Israeli students from the Hertzliya Hebrew Gymnasium,
together with their headmaster - Mr. Arie Barnea - went on a 'Masa Shorashim' trip to Poland.
Mr. Yaari's list of graves was given to 45 pairs of students in order to check, correct, and
fill-in missing info on the list. The students were instructed how to use chalk to make the
letters stand out. The remaining 30 students were asked to take as many pictures as possible
(with 30 rolls of film kindly donated by the Association of Cracowians in Israel). Their guide,
Mr. Udi Tzin, was in charge of this operation. Over 800 pictures were taken, of which about
580 were readable. Each image was scanned, read, and all readable names visible on the
matzeivas were transcribed. These names can be searched and the matzeiva viewed
using Shoreshim's utility.
Viewers who visit this cemetery are invited to take additional images and submit them to
Shoreshim for inclusion in this project.
Note: The original images are about 1/2 megabyte in size. However, due to restricted
space on the server, the images have been reduced in size and have been layered with a watermark.
These images can be viewed by anyone. Paid-up Shoreshim members can obtain the original 1/2
megabyte image (without the watermark) at no charge. Non-paid-up members of Shoreshim can order
the original images for a nominal fee.
This project was initiated by Lili Haber. It serves as a fine example of what can be achieved
in the area of ancestoral research. Furthermore, it illustrates how easy it is to get
future generations involved in genealogy and in the preservation of our ancestoral heritage.
Our sincere thanks to Mr. Yaari and Lili Haber who organized the project. Thanks also to
Arie Barnea and Udi Tzin, and of course, to the students of Gymnasia Herzelia... our future
archivists.
