Sergey Kravtsov, Senior Research Associate at the Center for Jewish Art in Jerusalem, has written a thoughtful op-ed on the value and preservation of Jewish religious heritage in Europe, published on the excellent “Future of Religious Heritage” web site. Born in Lviv and trained as an architect at the Lviv Polytechnic University, Kravtsov, who moved to Israel in 1994, is regarded as one of the foremost researchers and experts on synagogue architecture in eastern Europe and has authored dozens of publications.
In his essay, he provides background to the destruction of Jewish heritage sites, during and after the Holocaust, and also summarizes preservation policies in a number of countries.
According to the estimations of the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Belarus preserved only 135 synagogues (ca. 8% of their number before the war), Moldova – 27 (ca. 9%), Lithuania – 106 (ca. 11%), Latvia 38 (ca. 11%), and Ukraine –474 (ca. 13%). The situation was only slightly better in Poland and Romania, where the majority of the synagogues that survived the war were demolished during the post-war period under Communist rule: in Poland were preserved 356 synagogues (15%), Romania – 97 (17%), and in former Yugoslavia: Bosnia – 14 (35%), Croatia – 16 (19%), and Serbia 19 (15%). The situation was no different in Greece with its 20 preserved synagogues (22%). Further north and west, the losses were lower: Germany preserved 849 synagogues (35%), France –190 (49%), the Netherlands – 124 (56%), Belgium – 10 (76%), the Czech Republic – 274 (44%), and Slovakia – 149 (63%), %), Bulgaria preserved 20 synagogues (71%).
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In sum, the Jewish cultural heritage is a unique and valuable component of European culture and its cityscape. Due to its complicated history, the Jewish cultural heritage demonstrates a great diversity of forms, is laden with multiple meanings, and faces a variety of existential problems. These problems could seldom be solved by a local Jewish community, by the present owner of particular objects. They demand the attention and care of local, national, and European society, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. This situation constantly draws the attention of experts: historians, art and architectural historians, museologists, conservators, architects, and urban designers. It challenges those Jewish descendants from abandoned localities who feel rooted there, who acknowledge the potential of specialized tourism, and who are seeking to improve the cultural landscape.
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