Home / New York City / Parks / Riverside Park

Warsaw Ghetto Memorial

In 1940 Poland's Jewish population was concentrated into a handful of densely-packed ghettos around the country. The ghetto in central Warsaw was one of the largest, housing 400,000 at its peak. Deportations from the ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp began late in the Summer of 1942. While the community initially believed they were being deported to labor camps, the stark reality of the situation eventually became clear. On April 19, 1943, an uprising began as German troops entered to remove the ghetto's remaining inhabitants. 56,000 Jewish fighters managed to hold off German troops for nearly a month before being overwhelmed and slaughtered by the Nazis.

A little over four years later, on Sunday, October 19, 1947, a cornerstone was dedicated at this site in Riverside Park for a memorial to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. However, two subsequent designs were rejected by the New York City Art Commission as inappropriate for the park. With public support for the monument waning over the years, it appears that the only memorial that will ever get built will be this buried cornerstone surrounded by a low iron fence. (reference)

Next: 84th Street Rock Outcrop