08/03/2026
UPDATE FROM THE FIELD!
In May, Dr. Marysia Galbraith led a group of UA graduate and undergraduate students in conjunction with a team of international volunteers from the Association of Descendants of Jewish Central Poland (ADJCP) and local community members to restore a Jewish cemetery in Żychlin Poland. The goal of the project was twofold, first to help restore and care for the cemetery and second to use ground penetrating radar (GPR) to locate a Holocaust mass grave.
The first step was to clear the area, which had become overgrown with shrubs and small trees. This labor-intensive process took multiple days and could not have been completed without community support, including students from a local high school. Additionally, volunteers worked to maintain the cemetery and memorial monument, including weeding and repainting railings.
UA Anthropology PhD candidate Claiborne Sea, an expert in geophysical archaeological methods, led the GPR survey. This noninvasive method allows archaeologists to visualize disturbance underground without excavation. Analysis of the data is still ongoing but hopefully will provide the necessary information to officially recognize the site and lay the groundwork for memorial efforts.
Additionally, Dr. Galbraith was a guest of honor at the unveiling of a new exhibit at the Saski Palace Museum in Kutno for her efforts in association with the ADJCP to display a Torah dating to the early 1900’s that was recently rediscovered.
