On November 16, 2006, at the Jewish cemetery in Izbica (lubelskie province), a  ceremony of unveiling a monument commemorating the Jewish community of Izbica, organized by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland, took place. The monument was founded by the Embassy of Germany in cooperation with the Foundation.

The ceremony was attended by the Israeli Ambassador, Mr. David Peleg, the German Ambassador, Mr. Reinhard Schweppe, a representative of the President's Office, Ms. Malgorzata Zaluska, the Chief Rabbi of Galicia, Rabbi Edgar Gluck, a deputy bishop of the Lublin Archidiocese, bishop Mieczyslaw Cislo, representatives of the local authorities and the Izbica Mayor. The ceremony was also witnessed by a crowd of local citizens and children from an Izbica school, who participate in our "To Bring Memory Back " educational program.

The monument is a simple, stone stele, with the following inscription carved in Polish, German and in English:

Izbica was established in 1750
as a settlement for Jewish people removed from the neighboring Tarnogóra.
For almost two hundred years Jews were the majority of Izbica’s citizens,
contributing to its economic and cultural development.
In 1921 93% of the town’s citizens were Jewish. 

In September 1939 there were 4000 Jews living in Izbica.
In December 1939 occupiers brought to the town
2500 Jews from Łódź and Koło,
and in April 1942 1000 Jews from Czechoslovakia.
By the end of 1942 all the Izbica Jewswere murdered by the German Nazis.
4000 people were shot at the Izbica Jewish cemetery,
and all the others were killed in the Bełżec and Sobibór death camps.  

In memory of the Jewish citizens of Izbica,
murdered during the Shoah 

Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
2006

The monument is a part of the IZBICA JEWISH CEMETERY COMMEMORATION PROJECT, coordinated by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland and supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and by Tvschoenfilm, a German documentary producing company.  

The aim of the project is to commemorate the neglected Jewish cemetery in Izbica and to restore its dignity.   

Before World War II over 90% of Izbica citizens were Jews. During the war a transitional camp for Jewish people being sent to the death camp in Bełżec and Sobibór was organized there. The Jewish cemetery was desecrated, its fence destroyed, and the matzevot were used to build a Gestapo prison in Izbica.  

In September 2006 the Foundation, together with Tvschoenfilm, demolished the prison building. The matzevot returned to the cemetery and were fixed to the walls of an ohel of tzaddik Joseph Mordechai Leiner. 

In November and December 2006 the Foundation, thanks to the support of the Federal Republic of Germany, will erect a monument commemorating the Jewish community of Izbica, complete an architectural design of a new fence and involve local students in the cemetery’s upkeep by organizing workshops on Jewish culture and public activities concerning restoring memory about the pre-war Jewish community. 

The final stage of the IZBICA JEWISH CEMETERY COMMEMORATION PROJECT will be fencing the cemetery. The cost of this undertaking is estimated for 50 000 €. The Foundation is now seeking partners who will help to complete this task.