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by rededication of a

Nazi-ravaged cemetery

in Poland.

Sheila and Martin Guyer, at the monument made of matzevot in the Jewish cemetery in Gombin, Poland, on Aug. 16

MARTIN E. GUYER
Special to the Jewish News

Cemetery monument
to keep memory
of once-vibrant
Jewish community alive.

y father, Abram
Guyer, left his shted
in Gombin, Poland,
in the late 1920s. His
odyssey would take him to Israel,
where he married my mother,
Edith, and where my sister Annie
was born.
In 1938, he came to Detroit,
where he joined other members of
his family who had left Gombin
some years earlier. As a child, I
remember frequent references to
Gombin and to events that took
place in the haym (home). Even
though my father and his con-
temporaries expressed no interest
in returning to their birthplace, I
grew up with a curiosity: "I wonder
what it was like; I would like to just
spend an afternoon there."
About two years ago, I became
involved with an e-mail group con-
sisting of second-, third- and even

fourth-generation descendants of
people from Gombin. The group
investigated the history and genealo-
gy of this town and was actively
involved in finding a way to rededi-
cate the cemetery, which had been
devastated by the Nazis.
A few individuals went to
Gombin several years ago and locat-
ed matzevot (headstones) in the
street curbs and the yards of homes
as well as part of a bridge. Within
the last year, the area of the ceme-
tery has been reclaimed, a substan-
tial wrought iron fence with a brick
gateway has been built and a monu-
ment has been erected — made up
of the rescued matzevot.
Of course, the found matzevot
are just a small fraction of what
must have been there at one time.
About six months ago, a dedication
ceremony with a trip to Gombin
was announced and my wife,
Sheila, said, "Here is your chance.
It's now or never, and why not go
with people who can point things
out?" So off we went.
Our trip to Gombin began in
Warsaw, where we met others like
ourselves from the United States,
England, Scotland and Israel.
Interestingly, only two individuals in
the group had actually lived in
Gombin. We spent Shabbat getting
to know people that we had only
heard of or that we "knew" through
our e-mail correspondence.
Davening Friday night and Shabbat

10/8

1999

Detroit Jewish News

39