The Jewish center of Auschwitz (AJC), located in the city of Oświęcim, in Poland – a few minutes from the site of the former Auschwitz concentration camp – announced the addition of kosher food and pr
A city erased by history
Before the Nazi occupation, Oświęcim had an important Jewish population. The Jews represented more than half of the city’s residents, with dozens of synagogues, kosher restaurants and community institutions. This dynamic life was destroyed when the Nazis built the Auschwitz death camp on its periphery – a place where more than a million Jews were murdered during the holocaust.
Today, the city is home to a single restored synagogue: Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot. Next to him is the Jewish center of Auschwitz, which strives to preserve the memory of the Jewish community which once lived in Oświęcim while providing resources for those who visit the neighboring commemorative site.
Cosher meal for a sacred trip
As part of its expanding services, the AJC now offers stable kosher meals for conservation to visitors for a low amount. For observer Jews, this offers a significant and respectful means of maintaining kosher food practices while engaging in the Holocaust in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The deployment of kosher meals is timed before Yom Hashoah, the day of the Holocaust memory, observed this year on April 23. He coincides with The Living Marche, an annual international event in which thousands of participants walk from Auschwitz in Birkenau in tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.
Prayer in the last synagogue of the city
The AJC reinstated prayer services in the Synagogue Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot – the only surviving synagogue in Oświęcim. These services offer Jewish visitors a rare and powerful space for spiritual reflection and connection when they treat the weight of the inheritance of the Holocaust.
Preserve memory, support visitors
The leaders of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation claim that these new services reflect a commitment to honor the memory of the past while supporting the present Jew. Providing kosher food and prayer opportunities guarantees that Jewish travelers can maintain their traditions while visiting this site of loss and deep memory.
Meal reservations, prayer services and guided tours can be coordinated directly by the center for planning visits to Auschwitz and Oświęcim.
