Clean-up, restoration, fencing, and other maintenance takes place at many Jewish cemeteries all over Europe each year. Some of these operations are tantamount to rescue operations that save a graveyard from total abandonment and oblivion. They are carried out (and/or financed) by a variety of people, organizations and institutions ranging from Jewish communities to foundations to descendants of Jews from those towns to school groups from home and abroad. On JHE, we try to post information about as many such efforts as possible.
One recent fullscale restoration effort took place at the Jewish cemetery in Strzegom, Poland starting in mid-September. The totally overgrown site was cleared of vegetation and about 80 headstones were discovered and set upright.
Jews lived in Strzegom in the Middle Ages but were expelled in the mid-15th century and did not return until 1812. The cemetery dates from this modern period and was used until World War II. But Strzegom is also the site of a medieval synagogue, dating from the first half of the 14th century, which is one of the two oldest synagogue (or former synagogue) buildings still standing in Poland.
Virtual Shtetl reports that people involved in the cemetery restoration work included “several unemployed people from Bad Frejenwalde, Germany, and fifty students from the School Complex in Strzegom.” Another group of unemployed people from Germany is to come in March to complete work on the wall.
Manual tools and the entire logistics, such as transportation of building materials, placement and collection of rubble containers, were provided by the Communal and Housing Services (ZUK). […] The cost of workers’ labour, transportation, materials and tools provided by ZUK was estimated at PLN 17 000.
In addition:
The arrival of German workers was initiated by Günter Grützner, the head of the Association for Employment and Professional Qualifications in Bad Freienwalde. The project has been financed by the European Social Fund.
Read full report on Virtual Shtetl