“People, not Numbers” project

Dariusz Popiela, a whitewater canoeist and Olympian from Nowy Sącz, has been restoring the memory of Jewish victims of the Holocaust in southern Poland for several years. In 2018, he implemented the first edition of the project "People, not numbers" in Krościenko nad Dunajcem, where a monument commemorating the local community murdered during the Holocaust with 256 names and surnames of all victims was created. In 2019, a similar project was implemented in Grybów, where 1,774 victims of the Holocaust were commemorated on the monument.

The third edition of the project was carried out in Czarny Dunajec in 2020. As part of the action, a central monument and two stone plaques with the names and ages of 494 victims of the Holocaust from Czarny Dunajec and the surrounding towns, as well as two monuments (large white matzevot) placed at four mass graves, which were identified and secured with the help of the Rabbinic Commission for Cemeteries. During the project, several matzevot were found, which after renovation were returned to the cemetery and, as a lapidarium, are another symbol of remembrance of the former Jewish inhabitants of the town. The cemetery itself was fenced, new paths and information boards were created. During the project, which was joined by several volunteers from Czarny Dunajec and the surrounding area, several family stories were written down and published, the descendants of Jews from Czarny Dunajec were also reached and a tour of the synagogue was organised.

The ceremonial unveiling of the monument took place on October 11, 2020, unfortunately without the participation of descendants who could not come to the ceremony due to the pandemic.