Virtual Shtetl reports on its expedition to Belarus earlier this year during which a number of wooden Jewish grave markers found in the Jewish cemetery in the town of Lenin have been protected.
We managed to continue our research in spring 2012, and Dr Andrzej Trzciński of Jewish History and Culture Institute at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University agreed to come along. “Virtual Shtetl” also proposed Anton Astapowicz of the Belarussian Association for Monument Preservation to conduct restoration work at the cemetery. Leading a group of volunteers, Mr Astapowicz has cut the bushes surrounding the burial site and built a roof over the priceless matzevot. Now they’re finally protected from nature’s caprices.