Dear readers and descendants of Przysucha,

As many of you already know, the historic town of Przysucha (near
Radom) was a major center of Chasidism in Poland and continues today
to be a place of annual pilgrimage. Before the Shoah, the Jewish
population was significant, making up nearly 2/3 of the total town
population.

What you may not be aware is that the massive 18th century limestone
Przysucha synagogue is the largest surviving baroque synagogue in
Poland (a cavernous area of 650 square meters). Despite having been
used by the Nazis as a warehouse and heavily damaged during and after
the War, the building still retains impressive ornamental and structural
details, including a large central bimah, a wall niche for the ark
framed with stucco griffins, the women's gallery, and highly colorful
(though faded) fragments of decorative frescoes on the inside; on the
exterior is very rare and unique feature: a pillory where Jews sentenced
by the Jewish community court would be locked for punishment!

Following the War, the building fell into further disrepair and
neglect. Over the intervening years, misguided “renovations”
contributed to a deteriorating situation and dangerously threatened
the structural integrity of the building. For example, the bimah,
vital for support of the vaulted ceiling, was at one point
cut >from the foundation, then subsequently improperly "corrected"
with the installation of iron bar supports leaving it unsupported
and dangling above the ground.

Fortunately, beginning the year after its acquisition in 2007 by
FODZ (Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland)
major work began to stabilize the structure: 2012 saw the building's
foundation reinforced and the bimah properly re-supported; in 2013
roof restoration was completed. Important and necessary first
steps for ensuring that the synagogue - this important piece of Jewish
history - of Przysucha town heritage - can have a future and be open
to visiting Jewish groups and made available for religious and cultural
uses.

The major challenge now is renovation of the interior with its precious
original decorations and unique structural features.

More details -- and information on how you can help -- can be found
here:

http://fodz.pl/?d=5&id=93&l=en

To read more about the synagogue's history and the details of
renovation:

http://www.jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2013/10/04/przysucha-synagogue-roof-repair-completed/%E2%80%9D

http://samgrubersjewishartmonuments.blogspot.com/2012/02/poland-virtual-tour-of-przysucha.html

To download a .pdf on ‘Preserving Jewish Heritage In Poland' marking
FODZ's 10th anniversary, highlighting ist projects and programs,
including the Przysucha synagogue:

http://fodz.pl/download/album_fodz_www.pdf

To learn if you have family >from the town of Przysucha, visit the
JRI-Poland (Jewish Records Indexing-Poland): town page:

http://www.jri-poland.org/town/przysucha.htm

Warm regards and happy Chanukah to all,

Marla Raucher Osborn
Warsaw, Poland
osborn@nuthatch.org

Researching surnames:
HORN, FRUCHTER, LIEBLING >from Rohatyn (Galicia, today Ukraine);
KURZROCK >from Kozova (Galicia, today Ukraine);
TEICHMAN >from Chodorow (Galicia, today Ukraine);
SILBER, BAUMANN, and SCHARF fromUlanow and Sokolow Malopolska (Galicia,
Poland);
RAUCHER/RAUSCHER and KESTENBAUM >from Przemysl (Galicia, Poland);
BLECHER >from Soroka, Bessarabia (Moldova);
and BRUNSHTEIN, MOGALNIK, SARFAS, and
FABER >from Mohyliv Podilskyy and Kamyanets Podilskyy (Ukraine)