Publications and More
And the Pieces Come Together … the 2023 Final Report of the Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund. As 2023 comes to an end, this final report details the restoration accomplishments of the US-based Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund (BCRF). Despite the utter chaos of our world today, planned and unplanned projects, as well as the discovery of historic details, foundational to this cemetery’s proper restoration, for some inexplicable reason are finally coming together. The discovery, clarification and conjoining of these seemingly disparate pieces was not accomplished by one individual. Rather – to be somewhat cliché, it takes a village. In the case of the BCRF, it is an international village! 2023.
On Art and Restoration As a professor and scholar of Hebrew and Semitic languages, a translator of the Jewish epitaph, a board member of the NGO Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Project, more recently, I’ve taken up a new profession as an aspiring watercolorist. This essay explores how art can be used as a tool to preserve the past, record the present and imagine a future that reconnects to that past. 2022.
“August with Tsvi” – A Restoration Report. Jewish Heritage Europe hosts the 2022 season report of the Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Project. This report includes the incredible news of the extraction of 122 matzevoth from the mound on an unused area of Bagnowka Cemetery.
Catalogue of Best Practices for Jewish Cemetery Preservation The ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative issued a Catalogue of Best Practices for Jewish Cemetery Preservation. The catalogue provides an extensive guide to preservation initiatives from across nine European countries, from small-scale interventions by local residents to transnational partnerships. We are happy to announce that The Good Will Foundation is amongst those initiatives! Our initiative on Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery is found on page 25. 2021.
21 Misconceptions (Corrected) and Fun Facts about Bagnowka Beth Olam in Bialystok, Poland. 2021.
Jewish Past Has a Future in Poland Again, Historiek. Dutch journalist Andre Horling revisits his 1991 trip to Bialystok, including Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery, and interviews Dr. Heidi M. Szpek about current efforts in restoration with the Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund. The English translation of the original Dutch article is posted here. 2021.
Jewish Heritage Europe posted my report on How WW2 Luftwaffe Aerial Photos Reveal Lost Jewish Heritage in Bialystok, Poland 2020.
Jewish Heritage Europe has posted our report on Using WW2 Luftwaffe Aerial Photos to Document the History of the Bagnówka Jewish Cemetery in Białystok 2020
53°09’01.08″ N 23°11’50.56″ E
Book Revision: “Bagnowka: A Modern Jewish Cemetery on the Russian Pale.” 2021.
The ‘Rediscovery’ of the Ohel of Rav Shmuel Mohilever on Bagnowka Cemetery, Bialystok, Poland. 2020.
Looking Back to Move Forward: Revisiting the 1985 Conservators’ Report on Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery in Bialystok, Poland. 2020.
Revisiting the 1985 Conservator’s Report on Bagnowka: Bagnowka had a ‘People Entrance’! 2020.
Best Practices: Bagnowka Summercamp 2019.
“Only in Bialystok!” A Final Report on Summercamp 2019 Restoration Efforts on Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery
Bagnowka: A Modern Jewish Cemetery on the Russian Pale, IUniverse, 2017.
Bagnowka Cemetery Tour Flier, 2022. Guidebook, 2017, updated 2018.
Dr. Heidi M. Szpek, An Unintentional Keeper of the Names, 2016.
Papers, Articles and Essays of Dr. Heidi M. Szpek. 2006-2018.
