Pages of Testimony and Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem Museum

Yad Vashem is the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority of the State of Israel. It is based on a 45-acre complex of museums, memorials and exhibits in Jerusalem, Israel. Since 1953, Yad Vashem has worked to document and preserve the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. In November 2004, Yad Vashem made available online its Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names.

The database now contains nearly three million names. More than two million entries come from "Pages of Testimony," one-page forms with basic information about people who died in the Holocaust. They are filled out by survivors, remaining family members or friends of those who were lost. Other sources of names include town memorial books, wartime and post-war documents and other records.

Most of those who died from the Zolynia Jewish community have not been memorialized in a Page of Testimony. If you have information on people not in the database yet, please consider filling out a Page of Testimony form and recording their names. The forms can be filled in and submitted online or downloaded for mailing at www.yadvashem.org. Forms are available in numerous languages. Photographs may also be submitted and are also posted online.

Pages of Testimony and the Central Database

The list is posted below. An enhanced list is also available for download below in two file formats. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet version allows users to sort the columns in any way they wish; this format can be opened by almost all spreadsheet and database software and many other kinds of software. A version for Adobe Acrobat (a ".pdf" file) is also available (a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader is available through the link to the right, just above the Site Search bar). The downloadable Excel and Acrobat versions contain some additional information on wartime location.

Download MS Excel version of Shoah Names List here.

Download Adobe Acrobat version of Shoah Names List here.

More Information

The Valley of the Communities is a massive 2.5 acre labyrinthian monument that was dug out of the natural bedrock at the Yad Vashem complex. Engraved on the stone walls of the memorial are the names of over five thousand Jewish communities that were destroyed or nearly destroyed during the Holocaust. "Zolynia" is carved out in English and Hebrew on one of the 107 walls.

Also in Jerusalem is the Chamber of the Holocaust (Martef HaShoah) at Mount Zion. Established in 1949, there are more than 1,000 memorial plaques for Jewish communities lost during the Second World War. There is a plaque for Zolynia (Room A, Plaque Number 10). It is listed in the directory as "Zolin."

By tradition, Holocaust survivors gather at Mount Zion on the anniversary of the destruction of their Jewish communities. The precise date for many towns, including Zolynia, is not recorded, so the default anniversary is considered to be Yom HaShoah, Israel's Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes Remembrance Day. Yom HaShoah is the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, which generally falls between mid-April and early May. It will fall on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, on Sunday, April 11, 2010 and on Sunday, May 1, 2011.

Yad Vashem honors non-Jews who risked or lost their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. These rescuers are called the "Righteous Among Nations." Over 21,000 rescuers have been recognized, including more than 6,000 in Poland. Information and guidelines for consideration are available from Yad Vashem. Some details about rescuers in Zolynia and its surrounding villages are available on this site.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 here. Versions for all platforms and numerous languages are available.