Plavnica and Lublow are two small, neighboring villages on
the border of Galicia, close to Zanz. Before the outbreak of
World War II these two communities were as one, sharing one
shechita and one set of educational institutions.
Though each town had its own shul and individual
cemetery, citizens of one town were often buried in the
other, probably due to family plots.
Reb Shimon Yehuda Friedman, zt"l, a pupil of the Ksav
Sofer, served as the rav of Lublow until his death in 5664
(1904). His son, R' Yitzchok zt"l, took over the
position until he and his whole kehilla were deported
to Auschwitz. Hashem yikom domom.
HaRav Zev Wolff Willner, zt"l Hy"d, known to all as
R' Wolff Plavnitzer, was the rav for over 30 years in nearby
Plavnica. Not much was left of his great Torah works and the
little that was found has been put together from
seforim of other rabbonim of the time, e.g.,
Shaalos Uteshuvos Pri Hasodeh of HaRav Eliezer Chaim
Deutch zt"l rav of Benyhad, Shaalos Uteshuvos
Levushei Mordechai of the Gaon of Moad, and Shaalos
Uteshuvos Daas Sofer of HaRav Akiva Sofer zt"l,
rav of Pressburg.
The halachic shaalos dealt with community matters.
For example one question asked was whether allowing gentiles
to continue building the fence around the cemetery on
Shabbos was permitted, since the rainy season was drawing
closer and would inhibit or even stop the work until the
following year. Additionally, as long as the fence was
incomplete local farmers would graze their animals in the
area, a disgrace to the niftarim buried there.
A group of former residents and descendants of Plavnica and
Lublow recently traveled to the villages and were horrified
to see the neglect and destruction that the years have
wrought at the cemetery. The fence is completely broken; a
mass of thorn brambles, fallen trees and branches shroud the
cemetery, making entrance difficult and leaving the upper
part of the lot totally inaccessible.
Only the new ohel over the grave of the Rav of Lublow
and the renewed gravestone that his grandchild R' Simcha
Friedman of New York set up are in relatively good
condition. Even these also need strengthening.
That is the picture in Lublow. In Plavnica, the scene is
even worse. The cemetery was completely hidden from sight
and only after much effort did the visitors actually locate
the place, only to be met with the shocking scene of a
cemetery with a broken fence and densely overgrown with
trees, bushes and thorns.
Rabbonim advised them to enlist the help of the Committee
for the Rescue of Cemeteries in Europe, but to set up an
independent committee to restore the cemeteries of Plavnica
and Lublow. The committee's head is HaRav Zev Feldman, rav
of Torah Eitz Chaim in London, a grandchild of HaRav Wolff
Willner, Hy"d. Other members are askonim from
Israel, London and the U.S.A., among them grandchildren of
R' Shimon Yehuda Friedman zt"l, rav of Lublow.
The committee contacted the Burgomeister-Mayor of the town,
who immediately appointed his son to oversee the work of
renewing the cemeteries. To date, workers have already begun
clearing the area in Lublow and technical inquiries have
been started about costs and design of the fence.
Hopefully similar work will soon begin in Plavnica. However,
due to the severe winter weather, work on the fences will
probably not begin until the end of the winter.
It is interesting to note that in an amazingly well-timed
act of hashgocho and siyata deShmaya, a
daughter of HaRav Wolff Willner, Mrs. Feldman, originally of
Plavnica and now of Bnei Brak, recently found a handwritten
map of the cemetery.
The map, drawn out by the holy hand of her father before
being sent to the gas chambers in Auschwitz, is a clear
diagram of the cemetery with every tombstone marked and
labeled. Details of the fence and its precise measurements
on all four sides are included so that the committee can now
have the new fence built exactly on the foundations of the
old one.
The Committee members expressed the hope that former
residents of these villages and their families will step
forward and assist them in attending to the cemeteries.
The Committee for the Rescue of Cemeteries in Europe says
that only the constant interest of former residents and
their families can ensure the upkeep and care of these and
all the cemeteries left in Europe. Without this concern, the
locals pay no attention to abandoned Jewish cemeteries, but
if there is interest they often find it worthwhile to
cooperate.
When no interest is expressed, the results can be
catastrophic, such as what happened in Posen, the resting
place of HaGaon R' Akiva Eiger zt"l. One day the
whole cemetery was dug up without a single remnant --
because no individual or communal interest was shown.
