In the last decade of the nineteenth century, a traditional Jewish
cemetery was established in the small town of Bagnowka, located near the urban center of Bialystok
in current northeastern Poland. Though governed then by Tsarist Russia, Bialystok was still inspired
by the teachings of the Torah, the Talmud, and the greater rabbinic community. Yet this was also a
time of societal upheaval as a wave of modernity swept over Eastern Europe, bringing with it
religious diversity, revolution, and a more secular way of life that would also impact the structure
and material culture of this cemetery. Bagnowka: A Modern Jewish Cemetery on the Russian Pale tells
the story of this cemetery from its founding in 1892 to its devastation during and after the
Holocaust, as well as its recent restoration-in-progress. Drawing on Bagnowka & rsquo;s epitaphs
and tombstone art, archival records, period newspapers, photographs, and more, Heidi M. Szpek
reveals how this cemetery serves as a reflection of a once traditional Jewish world impacted by
modernity.