Vandals attack Jewish cemetery near Warsaw

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — Unknown vandals attacked a Jewish cemetery in the Polish town of Blonie near Warsaw.

Tombstones in the cemetery were smashed to pieces in recent days, around the same time that Warsaw commemorated the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

The cemetery in Blonie was founded in the 19th century. In 1940, Jewish soldiers who fought in World War II were buried there. After the war, the cemetery fell into neglect. In 2011, employees of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews found and restored some 40 tombstones or parts of tombstones.

Local police are investigating the vandalism. There is a cash bounty for information that will help find the perpetrators.