The area where the Warsaw ghetto was located may be protected under the law on conservation of historical monuments. The aim is to protect the remains of the ghetto that are still under the ground level. They are sometimes unearthed during renovation works and not always taken to museums.
On the initiative of the Warsaw Conservator of Monuments, representatives of the Polin Museum, the Jewish Historical Institute, the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Warsaw and the Regional Conservator talked about including the Warsaw Ghetto area in the municipal register of monuments as an archaeological monument.
Before the ghetto area is included in the “archaeological” register of monuments, a historical-archeological analysis of the site will be developed (determining the exact boundaries of protection and the cultural layers in terms of possible transformations) and then the Warsaw Conservator will address an official request to the Regional Conservator to enter the ghetto area into the register of monuments. The protection will only apply to what is still underground.
The listing and subsequent entry in the register will make it possible to introduce archaeological supervision during all earthworks within the ghetto area. Objects discovered in recent years by chance, related to the functioning of the ghetto and the lives of its inhabitants, have clearly demonstrated the need for such protection. The excavated items were not always brought to museums or research institutes, despite their significant historical value.
The municipal register of monuments maintained by the Office of the Warsaw Conservator of Monuments comprises over 11 000 properties located in Warsaw, including built-up areas and complexes.
