Obj. ID: 46049
Modern Jewish Art Monument to the Poles in the Paneriai Memorial, Lithuania, 1990
To the main object: Paneriai Memorial in Vilnius, Lithuania, from 1948 to 2015
Memorial name
Monument to commemorate the Poles.
Although not commemorating the Holocaust, this monument is an integral part of the Paneriai memorial complex.
Who is Commemorated?
About 2,000 of Vilnius' Poles murdered in Paneriai.
Description:
The monument is a high metal cross standing behind a granite “altar stone,” on which the main Polish inscription is placed, with a Lithuanian translation underneath. The altar stone is surrounded by a small stone wall that bears marble plaques with the names of 348 murdered Poles and a dedicatory plaque in Polish and Lithuanian with the image of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn (Matka Boska Ostrobramska, Aušros Vartų Dievo Motina).
The 348 names listed on the plaques are the only ones known out of of the about 2,000 Poles commemorated.
Inscriptions:
On both sides of the entrance to the monument:
In Polish, on the left-hand side:
Polska kwatera
1941 – 1944
In Lithuanian, on the right-hand side:
Lenkų kapaviete
1941 – 1944
Tranlation: Polish quarter/cemetery.
On the altar stone, in Polish:
S.P.
1941 - 1944
Pamięci wielu tysięcy polaków
zamordowanych w Ponarach
w hołdzie – rodacy
ziemi Wileńskiej
Wieczny odpoczynek
racz im dać Panie
a światłość wiekuista
nechaj im świeci
Amen
In Lithuanian, underneath the Polish inscription:
Nužudytų Paneriuose lenkų,
atminimui
Vilniaus krašto tautečiai.
Amžinąjį atilsį duok mirusiems,
Viešpatie, ir amžinoji šviesa jiems
tešviečia
Translation: In memory of numerous Poles killed in Paneriai – countrymen from Vilnius. “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them, Amen” [Eternal rest prayer for the dead].
On the black marble plaque at the back wall of the monument, flanking the image of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn:
In Polish (on the left):
Żołnierze Armii Krajowej, polskiego państwa podziemnego,
polska inteligencja i młodzież,
którzy oddali życie za wolność ojczystej ziemi
Cześć ich pamięci
Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
In Lithuanian (on the right):
Armijos krajovos, lenkijos pogrindžio kariai,
lenkų inteligentija ir jaunimas,
paaukoję gyvybę už gimtosios žemės laisvę,
garbė jų atminimui.
Lenkijos Respublikos Vyriausybė
Translation: Soldiers of the Home Army and Polish underground resistance / the Polish intellectuals and youth / who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their homeland / respect for their memory. The Government of the Republic of Poland.
Commissioned by
Helena Pasierbska and Lithuanian Polish Union (1990), the Council for the Commemoration of Suffering and Combat of the Republic of Poland (2000)
20 image(s)
sub-set tree:
According to the Paneriai Museum website:
"The first memorial symbol to commemorate the Poles who were killed in Paneriai – a wooden cross and an altar tombstone – was erected in Paneriai in autumn 1990 on the initiative of a former member of the Polish underground, a citizen of Vilnius, Helena Pasierbska (1921–2010). Lithuanian architect Jaunutis Makariūnas created the monument. In November 2000, the memorial designed by Polish architect Jaroslaw Skrzypczyk was unveiled at the same spot; it was funded by the Council for the Commemoration of Suffering and Combat of the Republic of Poland."
Guzenberg, Irina, Vilnius: Traces of the Jewish Jerusalem of Lithuania. Memorable Sites of Jewish History and Culture. A Guidebook (Vilnius: Pavilniai, 2021)., 739.
Website of The Paneriai Memorial of Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum, "Monument to commemorate the Poles," https://www.paneriumemorialas.lt/en/paminklas-lenku-atminimui/., https://www.paneriumemorialas.lt/en/objektai/ (accessed January 25, 2023)