The Bedzin Ghetto Fighters’ House in Będzin is located at 24 Rutki Laskier Street at the area of so-called Kamionka – where a ghetto was in 1942-43. It was here that the youth of the Jewish resistance, lead by Frumka Płotnicka, inspired by the visit of Mordechai Anielewicz, resisted the Nazis during the brutal liquidation action in August 1943. The memory of their struggle continues to this day – the wall of the building since 1947 is commemorated by a memorial plaque, which is one of the most important and oldest monuments of that kind in Poland. This place has an extraordinary historical and symbolic significance, which can, with proportions, be compared to the so-called Anielewicz bunker at 18 Miła Street in Muranów. The unique history of this House, the only one of its kind in Poland, with its completely preserved authentic architecture, have made it a fixture on Jewish tours and in Israeli Holocaust education programs for years.

Thanks to the support and tremendous work of Uri Meiselman and generosity of private donors, we were able to raise the funds to purchase the building. We are happy to have worked out a wise agreement with the owners of the building, who sold it to the Foundation, so as to secure the history and future of the site. Since July 11, 2024, the building has been owned by the Brama Cukermana Foundation. Since then – in less than a year – the House has been visited by nearly 10,000 young Israelis on educational visits to Poland. We believe that in the future this memorial will also be visited in large numbers by the local community and Polish youth as an important place that speaks not only about the tragic past, but also educates for a better future. In addition to creating a permanent exhibition here, we would like to use the space of the house to educate for intercultural understanding, human rights and democratic citizenship – values that are important to Poland and all of Europe both today and in European memory.

The Brama Cukermana Foundation works intensively to protect the site, commemorate its history and educate about the Jewish history of the Ghetto and the Holocaust. In this process, we are working with the Polish authorities and our partner in Israel: 
Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed-Dror Israel.

Later this year (2025), thanks to a grant from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Foundation will carry out extremely important work, which is the beginning of the process of renovating the building:

  1. Archaeological research at the building in search of remnants of Jewish hiding places – bunkers from the ghetto era.

  2. Preparing documentation for the site for the Provincial Register of Monuments so that it will be protected by Polish law.

  3. Creating documentation and an architectural concept that will be used to renovate the building, bunker and garden to make them more accessible and functional.

We would like to thank all donors:
-Joel Lagerlov
-AFI Europe – international investor and developer operating in Central and Eastern Europe
-Bezeq Company
-Check Point Company
-Avihu Ronen, Cvi Ronen, Arnon Ronen
and others who find places in our hearts, in our new home, and whose names will be commemorated with the greatest dignity.

We would like to thank our lawyer Andrzej Mochnacki – you know why!

 
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If you believe that work we do at the Brama Cukermana Foundation is important to you, we humbly ask for your support. Our strength has been nourished and renewed by your presence in Zaglembie. Our continued work is only possible with your support.

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Our bank account:

PL 26160014621028512280000002
SWIFT: PPABPLPK
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Bank Polska SA
01-211 Warszawa
ul. Kasprzaka 2
POLAND
 

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The Brama Cukermana Foundation (Cukerman’s Gate) has been involved in the protection of Jewish heritage as well as research, education and commemoration for 15 years. We focus our activities in Będzin – a city that has been an important center of Jewish life for centuries. Before World War II, Jews constituted half of its inhabitants – nearly 30,000 people. We are convinced that the heritage and history of this community are an inseparable part of the history of the city, the region and Poland – a part that we want and must remember.

The impetus for establishing the Foundation in 2009 was the need to save the historic Jewish prayer house of the Cukierman family (in the so-called Cukierman’s Gate). The Foundation protected this place by entering it in the Register of Monuments of the Silesian Voivodeship. We carried out a two-stage renovation of the polychromes decorating the walls of this house of prayer and transformed this place into a living space of memory and education.

During 15 years of our extremely active activity, we have implemented many projects related to local Jewish heritage and history. We protect, describe and mark material heritage. We organize public commemorations and commemorations related to the Holocaust. We conduct interviews with Polish and Jewish witnesses of history. We publish books and implement projects involving the local community and constantly develop Polish-Jewish dialogue. We are one of the few non-governmental organizations in Poland operating in this area, thanks to such a long history, established position and recognition.

For years, we have been hosting and guiding tourists from abroad who have their family roots here around Będzin, Zagłębie and Upper Silesia region. We help them learn about their family history and place it in a broader local context. We are rebuilding long-broken bonds and overcoming decades of pain and misunderstandings. The key to these relationships is true dialogue, openness, knowledge and mutual respect. Together we are writing a new chapter of Polish-Jewish history. The activities we have been conducting for 15 years can be called grassroots diplomacy, based on direct interpersonal relations. They contribute to improving Poland’s image abroad and effectively overcome the historically negative and stereotypical view of our country.

FOUNDATION’S MISSION
The mission of Bram Cukermana Foundation stands between the past and the future, facing two obligations at the same time. The first is to preserve the memory of the centuries-long history of Jews in Będzin and Zagłębie, and to commemorate the thousands of people murdered here during the Holocaust. It is a commitment about the past. The second commitment, regarding the future, is the work and responsibility we take to build a better world for our children and future generations through education, dialogue and empathy. A world in which there will be at least a little less anti-Semitism, exclusion and hatred. 

Karolina & Piotr Jakoweńko
Board Members