Emotional Discovery: Eternal Light of Annihilated Community Found After 70 Years

The excitement among the staff of the 'Shema Olam' Institute when the Eternal Light from the city of Tarnow in Poland was brought to the institute is indescribable. It is a unique and special relic from a synagogue destroyed during the Holocaust in Tarnow. This is an 'Eternal Light' for the elevation of the souls of the departed, which hung above the synagogue's platform, exquisitely designed and very impressive. As mentioned, it was recently brought to Israel.

"It's an incredibly fascinating item that we found through a unique process," says Rabbi Avraham Krieger, head of the Shema Olam Institute. "As part of our work to preserve and document the struggles of Jews during the Holocaust, we employ people who visit different cities across Europe, constantly trying to locate items and documents from the Holocaust era. This way, we established our archive, recognized a few years ago as the world's largest archive of Holocaust items. Our goal is not just to display these items but also to reveal the stories behind them. Often the item in our hands expresses something about the Jewish world before the Holocaust and reveals what happened in the ghettos and camps. This is how items and documents from all over Europe have come into our possession, and similarly, the intriguing find – the Eternal Light from Tarnow – recently came into our hands."

The Eternal Light discovered after 79 years

Discovery in Poland

Rabbi Krieger recounts about the Eternal Light: "This item was in the hands of a local Pole even before the Holocaust. That Pole held a senior position in the Polish authorities, which allowed him to have a good relationship with the Jews. When the war broke out, he was alert enough to understand the enormous value of the items related to the Jewish world and the destruction occurring at the time, and he collected them from the Tarnow ghetto and other surrounding places."

Did he do it voluntarily or out of greed?

"No, to the best of our knowledge, there was no greed involved but rather a historical consciousness. This person understood that after the war, these items would hold tremendous importance, which turned out to be true."

Rabbi Krieger points out that this Pole has since passed away, but his son preserves the items very methodically. "We have been in contact with the son for quite a few years. In the past, we received items from him specifically from the Tarnow ghetto. For instance, we have a series of special candlesticks made inside the ghetto. We continue to visit him from time to time, searching and examining the items. Last time we visited, he brought out this Eternal Light. He knew to tell us clearly it was the light from the synagogue in Tarnow, as his father was a very organized person who documented this detail clearly."

Rabbi Krieger gets emotional when recounting: "The Eternal Light was permanently illumined in the Tarnow synagogue. We know this because just a few years ago, we received photographs from someone else of the process of demolishing the synagogue. You can literally see them destroying the structure, the Holy Ark, the walls, leaving nothing, yet this Eternal Light, which hung above the Holy Ark, was what survived. Although nobody could tell us if it was electric or if it had a flame with oil, the excitement is immense. It's a lasting memory."

About the city of Tarnow, Rabbi Krieger recounts: "Before World War II, Tarnow was a very central city, with about 25,000 Jews living there, and when the war started, more Jews from the entire region arrived. At the war's onset, the Germans reached Tarnow and demolished the main synagogue, known as the 'Old Great Synagogue of the city'. Additionally, there was another synagogue – the new synagogue, but no trace of it remains. From the old synagogue, the Torah reading platform remains. It exists to this day. The Germans left it despite the destruction, presumably wanting it preserved as a display."

The synagogue before destruction

Is there currently a Jewish community in Tarnow?

"No. There are no Jews residing in the city at all. After the Holocaust, there was an attempt to reestablish a Jewish community for a short term, but it quickly disbanded. Moreover, there were no refugees or remnants who could be returned to Tarnow, as the vast majority were murdered in the war.

"We know that the German commander specifically in charge of Tarnow was an extraordinarily murderous person. This was evident as he executed Jews from 1940 in various events, sometimes in the city center, sometimes in the market area or other parts of the city. In 1942, the murder escalated, and alongside the murder of Jews in the city itself, he also sent them to the Belzec extermination camp. The commander didn’t stop there but continued to execute Jews in nearby forests, at the Jewish cemetery, and in other towns. One of his notable murder campaigns was in an area called 'Zabłocie-Góra', where a large group of Jews, many of them children, were murdered and buried in a mass grave."

The synagogue before destruction

Always Illuminated

Due to the total annihilation of the Jewish community, Rabbi Krieger highlights the immense sentimental value of the recently revealed Eternal Light. "There is such great significance here – the community is murdered, the synagogue destroyed, yet the Eternal Light continues to burn and does not extinguish. Just as it is said, 'for its lamp never goes out forever and ever'. I feel as if we received a historic and tangible message from a community that was and is no more."

Ruins of the synagogue in Tarnow, 1939

Do you have an estimate of the monetary value of this item?

"Look, this is not an item made of gold or silver, so the material's value itself isn’t high, but it holds great emotional value. In general, items like these are typically not monetarily appraised because each one is unique and there is no other item to compare it with."

Rabbi Krieger emphasizes that the Shema Olam Institute is unique as it focuses on the documentation of Jewish struggles during the Holocaust. "This is an aspect that strengthens and clarifies the meaning of all our Jewish identities. Because the Holocaust story is often documented as a crisis of identity loss, as if Jewish identity was a burden. We know the opposite is true. So many Jews bravely preserved their identity, their Jewish values, and morality. You could see this even among those who did not define themselves as observant, yet they clung to those values. Our goal is to preserve the Jewish items that testify to this, although, unfortunately, most items cannot be preserved as locals trade them and do not hand them over to us. I am glad at least we managed to secure the Eternal Light, and we will continue to do everything to return more items to the Jewish people."