Jewish Cemetery 2021 clean-ups: Round-up #2. They rarely grab headlines, but dozens of Jewish cemetery clean-ups by volunteers and others go on in many countries

(JHE) — Several disturbing incidents of vandalism at Jewish heritage sites, including cemeteries, grabbed headlines in recent weeks. But — as usual –there was almost no media coverage of the many more efforts at preservation and restoration.  We try to remedy that.

In mid-May, we published a first round-up of some of the many Jewish cemetery clean-up initiatives taking place this spring and summer in various European countries.  

Here’s a second Round-up listing  dozens more —actions that have taken place since our last round-up, that are scheduled to take place, and that are (or have been) ongoing. Most clean-ups going on as planned, but, like last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced cancellation or postponement of others.

Click on the links to see details for each action, on Facebook, local media, or dedicated web site. The links in orange show upcoming or ongoing initiatives.

Good news is that after having had to cancel last year, Action Reconciliation Service for Peace, a German-based NGO that organizes annual Jewish cemetery clean-up summer camps in Central and Eastern Europe, decided to carry out its activities, though on a very reduced schedule because of the pandemic: only one cemetery clean up will take place. On August 15-28, volunteers over the age of 40 will be able to work at the Jewish cemetery in Wroclaw, which in June was vandalized by kids who toppled or damaged dozens of stones. Only fully vaccinated volunteers can take part in the initiative..

 

If you don’t see your project on this list — let us know!

 

AUSTRIA

Korneuburg, June– Volunteers and cemetery gardeners cleaned and restored the local Jewish cemetery, in an action headed by army sergeant Norbert Glasl. Specifically, volunteers cleaned the tombstones and freed the walls from vegetation. Click here to see details 

Vienna, July 11, August 8, September 12, October 10, November 1-The Association “Save The Jewish Cemetery of Währing” published the Summer and Autumn calendar for clean-ups open for volunteers, from 10 AM to 4 PM. Actions include gardening to remove vegetation and leaves from the gravestones. Gloves, scissors, rakes and some other equipment are provided by the organizers, but volunteers are also welcome to bring their own. Registration is not required. NOTE: Volunteers enter the area of the cemetery at their own risk, and men are requested to wear a head covering. In case of bad weather, the clean-up might be either cancelled or postponed. Click here to see details

BELARUS

Mogilev, ongoing– Volunteer work at the city’s Jewish cemetery continues throughout the spring and summer and includes both clean-up and restoration work.

The Mogilev Jewish community is fundraising for the restoration of the cemetery via a GoFundMe campaign 

See more details on the Facebook page

Read our Have Your Say article about the cemetery and restoration work

CZECH REPUBLIC

Havlíčkův Brod– The local municipality allocated funds for the construction of a path that leads to the local Jewish cemetery, which until now was accessible only through open fields. The cemetery was cleaned up last year by local scouts, and the municipality placed an information panel on the site. Click here to see details

Holešov, July 13-25– Six volunteers from around the world are welcome to apply for the “Jewish Holešov” camp, organized by local volunteer NGO “Inex.” Volunteers will work at the local Jewish cemetery and at the Shach synagogue, where they will help to maintain outdoor areas. See more info here 

Hranice, Autumn– In Hranice the Municipality will restore the 17^thcentury Jewish cemetery, but some cleaning works have already started. Click here to see details

FRANCE

Cronenbourg, July– Renovation and restoration work on some old matzevot is taking place, under the auspices of the Alsace Jewish community. See more on Facebook 

GERMANY

Eberswalde, May 30– On the occasion of the local Volunteer Day 2021, the association “Traces of Jewish Life in Eberswalde” organized a clean-up in the local Jewish cemetery. The German MEP Sergey Lagodinsky took part in the initiative. Click here to see details For more info Click here to see details on Facebook

HUNGARY

Battonya, May– The municipality will restore the Jewish cemetery’s walls thanks to a grant from the MAZSOK, and in preparation for that organized out a cleaning of the area in May. Click here to see details

Budapest, June 11– Volunteers from the OR-ZSE (Jewish University) participated in a one-day clean-up and documentation action at Budapest’s vast Kozma utca Jewish cemetery. The action was organized by the Friends of Jewish Cemeteries Association and involved plot 19 of the cemetery, where reburials from an old demolished Jewish cemetery in Váci utca are located. Another action is foreseen for the Autumn. Those interested in participating can write to István Balogh: [email protected].  Click HERE and HERE  to see details.

Budapest, July 20-27– The Friends of the Budapest Jewish Cemetery organizes an international one-week-long volunteer clean-up action at the vast Kozma utca Jewish cemetery. Called “Hand in Hand”, the program is open for people aged 18-23, and it includes 25 hours of work at the cemetery over 5 days, as wellas other activities. Costs, excluding travel ones, are covered by the association. Click here to see details

ITALY

Finale Emilia, May– As every year, the association for the protection and promotion of local cultural heritage Alma Finalis carried out a volunteerspring clean-up at the local Jewish cemetery, which dates back to the seventhenth century.Volunteers from the association have taken care of the cemetery year round since 1987.  See more on Facebook

Rome, June 24– A group of four 17-years-old volunteers from the Rome Jewish community cleared the Prima Porta Jewish cemetery from the vegetation and cleaned some tombstones. Click here to see details

MOLDOVA

Zgurița, June– The ESJF – European Jewish Cemetery Initiative, in collaboration with local authorities, carried-out cleaning works at the Jewish cemetery, which was fenced by the same organization in December 2020. See more on Facebook 

NETHERLANDS

Kampen, June– Volunteers from the Netherlands-based Christian foundation “Penance & Reconciliation” worked at the cemetery to restore and clean matzevot. Volunteers were also recruited by the local Baptist pastor Maurits Luth. Click here to see details For further info See more on Facebook

POLAND

Cieszyn, May 31– Cleaning work at the city’s new Jewish cemetery took place, organized by Irena French, an employee of the local museum. Actions already took place in April and early May, and further clean-up and restoration actions will follow in the upcoming weeks. See more on Facebook   For further details Click here

Częstochowa, July 4– Organized by Strażnicy Pamięci – Guardians of Remembrance and Ludzie, Nie Liczby-People, Not Numbers, the action took place from 11 AM to 5 PM. See more on Facebook

Dąbrowa Białostocka, June 4– A clean up action organized by Dorota Budzinska from the local Forum for Dialogue took place. Two scout groups took part, and support was also given by the Cultural Heritage Foundation. See more details on Facebook   Watch a video on Youtube:

 

 

Dukla, June 4– A volunteer clean-up day at the local Jewish cemetery involved residents of many ages. It was organized by the Dukla Shtetl Association. See more on Facebook

Iwaniska, Autumn –Cleaning work was carried out at the local Jewish cemetery in the spring, supported by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODŻ), and further clean-up works on the site are planned for autumn 2021. See more here

Kielce, May 19 and June 22– A dozen people participated at the Spring and Summer cleaning actions at the local Jewish cemetery, organized by the Jan Karski Society. Click HERE and HERE 

Kraśnik, June 9– The action took place in consultation with FODŻ and the Polish Rabbinical Commission on Cemeteries, and was organized by Tomasz Cebulski from the Latający Uniwersytet Młodzieży. Students from the local secondary school took part. See more on Facebook   For more details Click Here 

Leśnica, May 29– An initiative of the city’s mayor, Łukasz Jastrzembski, the action lasted two hours and saw the participation of residents of all ages.  See more on Facebook    For further details Click Here 

Łódź, July 11 (and ongoing)– After a clean-up organized in April and another in May, the Guardians of Remembrance (Strażnicy Pamięci, in Polish), organizes another volunteer action at the city’s vast Jewish cemetery to be held on July 11, starting at 11 AM. See more on Facebook

Małogoszcz, June 11– Organized by the Local Patriots Association and the Cultural Heritage Foundation, this clean-up saw the participation of students from the local General High School and was led by the director of the Okopowa Street Jewish cemetery in Warsaw. See more on Facebook

Nowy Targ, throughout the Summer– This year the Centrum Foundation, created by former Olympic athlete Dariusz Popiela, is working at the Jewish cemetery in Nowy Targ. The work includes the construction of a memorial monument for the city’s Holocaust victims, and the research of mass graves around the city, where other memorial monuments will be erected. The work will last throughout the summer. In March, the Foundation received a grant of 8,000 złoty (about €1,750) () for the project from the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. 

Nowy Żmigród, April 30– The action was organized by Jerzy Dębiec, caretaker of the Jewish cemetery and director of the Nowy Żmigród Museum and was carried out by members of the Forum for Dialogue. See more on Facebook

Oświęcim, June 18– An action organized by the Jewish Museum of Oświęcim that saw the participation of staff and volunteers of the International Youth Meeting House and students of the Primary School in Zabrze. See more on Facebook

Pabianice, May 23, June 20 and July 25– Clean-up actions organized by Strażnicy Pamięci – Guardians of Remembrance and the Lodz Jewish community, in collaboration with local activists and historians. See more on FacebookFor more details see Local media report

Pszczyna, throughout the Summer– Restoration and clean-up work at the local Jewish cemetery will be carried-out throughout the spring and summer seasons, under the supervision of local historian and activist Sławek Pastuszka, who has been caring for the cemetery for the last 16 years. Since our last article, a clean-up took place, a tombstone was restored, and walls strengthened.  Over the years, Pastuszka managed to restore more than 300 tombstones (70% of the total), and this year, renovation works are planned on others. Click to see details and progress  on Facebook  

Rymanów, June 4– The clean-up was carried out with the participation of local scouts and representatives of the Municipality of Rymanów, as well as residents of the city, friends of the Rejwach Foundation and Leaders of Dialogue from Podkarpacie Region. The organizers of the action were FODŻ (Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland), and the Rejwach Foundation and Leaders of Dialogue. Click here to see details 

Sędziszów Małopolski, June 29– As part of FODŻ cooperation with the descendants of the former Jewish community of Sędziszów Małopolski as well as with the local authorities, measures were taken to preserve the local Jewish cemetery. Cooperation in this regard will continue in the coming months. Click here for more info

Szczebrzeszyn, June 28-30– A three-day action organized in cooperation with the employees of the City Hall and the Municipal Cultural Center. Click here to see more details

Tarnowskie Góry, July 7– After the Spring clean-up, the local NGO Gliwicka 66 organized another action at the local Jewish cemetery. Other clean-up initiatives for the summer period will be announced in the coming weeks. See more here on Facebook  This NGO recently won a grant of 4,200 złoty (about €920), from the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute in Poland for the project Inventory of gravestones in the Jewish cemetery in Tarnowski Góry – stage 1

Warsaw, throughout the summer – Work continues at the vast Okopowa street Jewish cemetery, with volunteer clean-up actions almost every Sunday. 

Wysokie Mazowieckie, June 2– A volunteer clean-up that saw the participation of students from the local secondary school. The action consisted of cutting bushes and small trees and mowing and raking grass. See more on Facebook For further details  Click to see local media story 

Zambrów, May – As a result of joint actions by FODŻ, the Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FJHP) and local authorities of the City of Zambrów, a clean-up of part of the Jewish cemetery in Zambrów was carried out in late May. See more on Facebook HERE and HERE 

ROMANIA 

Băbeni, May 28 –  A clean-up organized by the Jewish community of Zalau, which organized clean-ups also in several Jewish cemeteries of the province. See more on Facebook

Crasna, June 25 – A clean-up organized by the Jewish community of Zalau, which organized clean-ups also in several Jewish cemeteries of the province. See more on Facebook

Lăpușul Românesc, July 1 – A clean-up organized by the Jewish community of Zalau, which organized clean-ups also in several Jewish cemeteries of the province. See more on Facebook

Meseșenii de Jos, June 22 – A clean-up organized by the Jewish community of Zalau, which organized clean-ups also in several Jewish cemeteries of the province. See more on Facebook

Zalău, ongoing– The Jewish community of Zalău, a city in the historical region of Transylvania, in partnership with volunteers from the “Green Project – Restoration Transylvania”, is carrying on ongoing clean-up at the local Jewish cemetery. See more on Facebook

 

 

UKRAINE

Astei/Asztély and Balazher/Balazsér, May– With support from the Hungarian government, the Berehove/Beregszász Shalom Foundation is clearing Jewish cemeteries in the Berehove/Beregszász district. See more on Facebook 

Berehove, May 3– With support from the Hungarian government, the Berehove/Beregszász Shalom Foundation cleared the local Jewish cemetery. See more on Facebook 

Kyseliv, June 13– Local volunteers, activists, and educators cleared the area of a Jewish mass grave. See more on Facebook 

Kremenets, April 15– Activists from the local NGO “Everything is Possible” cleaned-up the site of a Jewish mass grave, where around 15,000 Jews were murdered during WWII. Click here to see details 

Mochola/Macsola, May 21– With support from the Hungarian government, the Berehove/Beregszász Shalom Foundation is clearing Jewish cemeteries in several villages in the Berehove/Beregszász district, including this one. See more on Facebook

Rohatyn, throughout the Spring and Summer–  Since the beginning of the year, Vasyl Yuzyshyn, a Rohatyn Jewish Heritage volunteer, is regularly visiting Rohatyn to cut and clear the bushes at the village’s Jewish cemeteries and mass graves. See more on Facebook

RUSSIA

Saint Petersburg, June 6 – Around 150students and teachers from various Jewish schools, volunteers and their family members cleaned-up the local Preobrazhenskoe Jewish cemetery and its tombstones. This initiative was interrupted last year because of COVID restrictions. The action was organized by Ritual LLC and the administration of the Jewish cemetery. Click here to see details    

 

Cilck to see our first 2021 round-up