We can’t stress enough the importance of this post. Episodes of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries prompt legitimate outrage and widespread condemnation, but the many, many more instances of volunteers and others cleaning, restoring, and maintaining Jewish cemeteries are rarely noted.
For the fourth (and probably final) time this year, we are publishing a round-up of some of these Jewish cemetery clean-up initiatives, by volunteers and others, taking place in various European countries.
All told this year, we have compiled around 270 initiatives in 18 countries and more than 150 towns, cities, and villages. And we know there are those that we missed!
Earlier this year, we documented such initiatives in mid-May, at the beginning of July, and at the end of August.
In this round-up we again list dozens of initiatives —actions that have taken place since our last round-up, that are scheduled to take place, and that are (or have been) ongoing. We also list a few actions that took place earlier this spring and summer, but were missed in the previous round-ups. Together with clean-ups actions, we also include documentation initiatives and restoration work carried-out by private citizens, public institutions, or NGOs.
This time we have also included a few instances of “rescued matzevot,” that is, Jewish tombstones or fragments, uprooted from the cemeteries during and after WW2 to serve other uses, and recently brought back to Jewish cemeteries (or other places for safe-keeping). This is becoming a much more common occurrence in Central-Eastern Europe – we know there are many more cases than what we have listed here, but those we list give an idea of the scope.
In some cases, these rescued stones are returned to Jewish cemeteries and used to build lapidariums, which serve as Shoah memorials. In other cases, the fragments are placed somewhere in the cemetery. In many cases, the cemetery’s neighbors are the ones who return the matzevot, sometimes discovered during a house renovation or demolition.
Click on the links to see details for each action, on Facebook, local media, or dedicated web site. Upcoming and/or ongoing initiatives are highlighted in orange.
CEMETERY CLEAN-UPS, DOCUMENTATION, AND RESTORATION
AUSTRIA
Vienna, Währing Jewish Cemetery November 1 – The Association “Save The Jewish Cemetery of Währing” welcomes volunteers for clean-up actions at the cemetery, 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
Vienna, Währing Jewish Cemetery, September – In early September, Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, ceremonially presented back to the Jewish community the restored gravestone of the Epstein family, located in the Währing Jewish cemetery. The restoration was paid for by the Austrian Parliament, to honor this Jewish family, whose Palais in Vienna city center today is used by the Austrian Parliament. Click here to read more
Vienna, Floridsdorf Jewish Cemetery, October 3 – The re:Member Vienna volunteer association carried out a clean-up, documentation and condition evaluation at the Floridsdorf Jewish Cemetery. One of the volunteers, Harvey Abrams, took more than 300 photographs of the gravestones. Click here to see Abrams’s Facebook post
BELARUS
Mogilev, ongoing– Volunteer work at the city’s Jewish cemetery continues throughout the spring, summer and autumn, 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
The Tachov Archives and Museum Society (TAMUS), a Czech non-profit NGO deeply involved in documenting and preserving Jewish cemeteries and other sites, documented and installed several information panels in various Jewish cemeteries in the Czech Republic, including:
Bzenec, April – With the support of E. Randol Schoenberg and JewishGen, and the cooperation of the Jewish Community of Brno, it documented 923 matzevot from the local the Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook
Čichtice, August – Documented all the 230 gravestone of the local Jewish cemetery, which are now available online. Click here to see more on Facebook
Osek and Hoštice, June – Carried-out and concluded the documentation of the local Jewish cemeteries. In the cemetery of Osek there’s also the matzeva of Jakob Kafka, Franz Kafka’s grandfather. Click here to see more on Facebook
Poběžovice, Domažlice and the Old Jewish cemetery in Plzeň, June – Three new information panels for visitors have been installed at the Jewish cemeteries of Poběžovice, Domažlice, and the Old Jewish cemetery in Plzeň, thanks to the initiative of TAMUS, the local municipalities, and the Jewish Community of Plzeň. Click here to see more on Facebook
Click here to see local media on the information panel in Domažlice
FRANCE
Fegersheim, September 1 – Volunteers documented the city’s Jewish cemetery. Click here to see pictures on Facebook
GERMANY
Göttingen, ongoing – The Jewish Cemetery in Gottingen has been closed to visitors for more than five years. However, thanks to federal, state, and Lower Saxony Jewish Communities Association grants, renovation work is being carried out, and the cemetery will be soon opened to visitors. Click here to see more
Hechingen, September 15 – After four years of work, renovation of the local Jewish cemetery was completed. The work was funded by the city of Hechingen, the state, the State Monuments Office, and the Monument Foundation, which contributed a total of €625,000. Click here to see more on local media
Watch a TV news report:
Rödelsee, September – Every year on the last Friday of September, the Friends of the Former Synagogue of Kitzingen, led by Margret Löther, organizes a cemetery clean-up day, from 9 AM to 5 PM. This time Iphofen Middle School students participated at the event. Click here to read more in local media
Waltrop (Germany), ongoing – In September, the “Jewish Commemoration in Waltrop” working group and the city’s secondary schools launched a crowdfunding to reach €3,000 needed to restore the local Jewish cemetery. The crowdfunding will continue until December. Click here to know more from local media
Click here to access the crowdfunding
HUNGARY
Dunapataj, Kalocsa, Ócsa, Gyula. Mélykút, Füzesgyarmat, throughout the Summer –The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ) carried out cleaning and restoration works in these Jewish cemeteries, throughout the summer. Click here to see more
Felsőszentiván , Kunmadaras, and Szabadszállás, starting in October – MAZSIHISZ scheduled cleaning and restoration works in these Jewish cemeteries in October. Click here to see more
Szécsény, September – The Tachov Archives and Museum Society (TAMUS), a Czech non-profit NGO deeply involved in documenting and preserving Jewish cemeteries and other sites, conducted a detailed photographic documentation of the Jewish cemetery of Szécsény. All gravestone inscriptions were researched, and the complete collection of available genealogical data is coming soon. Click here to see more on Facebook
LATVIA
Riga, October 3 – Volunteers from the Riga Jewish Community with the support of the JCC (Jewish Community Center), the Uniting History Foundation and the Jewish Museum in Latvia, gathered at the New Jewish Cemetery in the Šmerlis neighborhood for a day of cleaning. Click here to see more
LITHUANIA
Kaunas – The local Jewish community and the municipality reached an agreement to carry out urgent repair work at the Žaliakalnis Jewish cemetery, which contains around 5,800 tombstones. Click here to see more details on local media
Kybartai, September 26 – Volunteers Ralph Salinger, Michael Leiserowitz, and his wife Ruth, spent a day recording, documenting and cleaning the village’s Jewish cemetery. Click to see more information on Facebook Read a report on Ralph’s blog
MALTA
The Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta was established in 2019 and is currently crowdfunding to restore the country’s Kalkara, Ta’Brexia and Marsa Jewish cemeteries. Click here to see the online crowdfunding
POLAND
Sławek Pasztuska, a historian and activist from Pszczyna, organized and co-organized several volunteer clean-ups actions in the second half of October. Among them:
Bieruń, October 24 – Click here to see more on Facebook
Czechowice-Dziedzice, October 18 — Click here to see more on Facebook
Katowice, September 30 and October 27– The fourth and final September clean-up at the city’s cemetery, co-organized by Slawek Pastuszka, the Chevra Kadisha, and the Foundation for Cultural Heritage, took place on September 30, and saw the participation of high school students from several local schools. Click here to see some pictures of the September clean-up on Facebook Pastuszka is organizing another clean-up at the cemetery on October 27. Click here to see more on Facebook about the October clean-up
Dębowa, September 17 and October 20– Thanks to a grant from the National Cultural Center to the Cultural Heritage Foundation for the Coalition of Guardians of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland, Sławek Pastuszka and Tomasz Hubert Kandziora, the head of the Reńska Wieś municipality, organized volunteer clean-ups Click here to see the September event on Facebook Click HERE to see pictures of the September event on FB. Click HERE to see more on the October clean-up on Facebook
Koźmin Wielkopolski, September – the local NGO Stowarzyszenie Krotochwile, together with Sławek Pastuszka, Paweł Bajerlein and Patryk Piotr Antoniak, documented the cemetery in Koźmin Wielkopolski. Click here to see pictures on Facebook
Mikołów, October 26 – Pastuszka is organizing and co-organizing several volunteer clean-ups actions to be held in the second half of October. Exact times will be announced. Click here to see more on Facebook
Niezdrowice, October 1 – Organized by Sławek Pastuszka, the Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, and the Silesia Foundation, the action took place on October 1 from 12:00 to 18:00. Click here to see photos of the clean-up on Facebook
Pszczyna, October 15 – Sławek Pastuszka organized a clean-up action at the Jewish cemetery on the occasion of the 18th edition of the local Festival of Jewish Culture. The action saw the participation of local citizens and school students, as well as international volunteers. Restoration and clean-up work at the local Jewish cemetery was also carried-out throughout the spring and summer seasons. Over the years, Pastuszka managed to restore more than 300 tombstones (70% of the total). Click to see details and progress on Facebook
Gliwice, September 12 – A clean-up initiative organized by local citizens. Click here to see more on Facebook
Krapkowice, October – Employees from the Krapkowice municipality and employees of the WiK company cleaned up the local Jewish cemetery. The cemetery contains around 80 matzevot, and was used from 1824 to 1925. Click here to read more from local media
Click here to see pictures on Facebook
Łódź, October 3 (and ongoing)– After several clean-ups organized throughout the Spring and Summer, the Guardians of Remembrance (Strażnicy Pamięci, in Polish), organized another volunteer action at the city’s vast Jewish cemetery on October 3. See more on Facebook
Lubaczów, September – Renovation work on the fence of the local Jewish cemetery started in late September, funded by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sports, the City of Lubaczów and the descendant of a local Jew. More information (and pictures) on local media
Lubartów – The Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland is seeking financial help to cut down overgrown trees in Lubartów Jewish Cemetery (north of Lublin). FJHP is appealing for donations totaling at $2,900 to cut down overgrown trees and plants in the cemetery and preserve the memory of the local Jewish community. Click here to read more on Facebook and see how to donate
Małogoszcz, October 5 – Volunteers cut large amount of vegetation ina clean-up organized by the Local Patriots Association and funded by a private citizen. Click here to see pictures on Facebook “before and after” the volunteers’ work
Nowy Targ, throughout the Summer (and still underway)– 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. 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.
Pabianice, October 10– This was the last clean-up action of the year organized by Strażnicy Pamięci – Guardians of Remembrance at the city’s Jewish cemetery. See more on Facebook
Tarnowskie Gory, September – The local NGO Gliwicka 66 fully documented the local Jewish cemetery, for which it won a grant of 4,200 złoty (about €920), from the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute in Poland. The project was called Inventory of gravestones in the Jewish cemetery in Tarnowski Góry – stage 1. The second stage of documentation will be carried-out in the future, and more details will be added to the database. More information on Facebook and in local media
Warsaw, ongoing – Work continues at the vast Okopowa street Jewish cemetery, with regular volunteer clean-up and restoration actions. Click here to see the latest news on Facebook
Zielona Góra, October 4 – A group of local citizens got together to clean-up the local abandoned Jewish cemetery. Click here to see a local media report
ROMANIA
Volunteers from the Jewish community of Zalău spent the summer cleaning-up, restoring, and building fences in various Jewish cemeteries in the province, including:
Buciumi, September — Click here to see more on Facebook
Cehu Silvaniei, October — Click here to see more on Facebook
Crasna, September (and ongoing) — Click here to see more on Facebook
Meseșenii de Sus, September (and ongoing) — Click here to see more on Facebook
SLOVAKIA
Dolný Kubín, October – Volunteers from the OZ Aktiv-Relax NGO, with the support of the local municipality, restored part of the Jewish cemetery, and cleaned it up. Click here to see more on Facebook
Šahy, ongoing – Local volunteers, led by two employees of the local Honti Museum, Krisztina Kapusta and Anett Szabo, are carrying out clean-ups and documentation of the city’s orthodox and Status Quo Jewish cemeteries, and open them to visitors. Click here to read more from local media
UKRAINE
Rohatyn, October 1 – Since the beginning of the year, Vasyl Yuzyshyn, a Rohatyn Jewish Heritage volunteer, has been regularly visiting Rohatyn to cut and clear the bushes at the town’s Jewish cemeteries and mass graves. Since the beginning of the year, the cemeteries and mass graves have been cleaned 30 times. On October 1st Vasyl Yuzyshyn, Marla Raucher Osborn, and Jay Osborn visited and cleaned the cemeteries for the last time this year. Click here to see the latest on Facebook
Click here to read a report about this year’s clean-ups
RESCUED MATZEVOT
These are just a sample of the many such cases of rescue and recovery of matzevot that have been increasingly taking place in various countries.
Bedzin, Poland — Excavations over six months recovered more than 1,000 fragments of Jewish headstones that the Communist authorities removed in the 1960s from the Jewish cemetery on Zagorska Street and used to build a railway station platform. They were exhibited to the public September 25 and will eventually used to create a memorial. See details, scrolling on this FB page
Dukla, Poland, August – A total of 22 matzevot and 3 fragments were accidentally found during some work at the Wadernik stream over the past year. During WWII the Nazis used the tombstones to strengthen of the stream. The recovered matzevot were brought to the Dukla Jewish cemetery, thanks to the Dukla municipality, and the Shtetl Dukla Association for the Preservation of the Heritage of the Jews of the Dukla Region. Click here to see more in local media
Drzecin, Poland, May – In May, part of a washbasin that belonged to a Jewish cemetery was found in Drzecin. The washbasin was rescued and brought to the Słubice Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more from local media
Grabowiec, Poland, September – During home renovations, matzevot fragments were found in a private home in Grabowiec, and plans are underway to move them to the city’s Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more
Komarów, Poland, September – In this small village in Zamość county, the owners of a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary discovered that a step of the chapel was made out of Jewish tombstone fragments. After the discovery, the owners informed the municipality, which rescued the fragments and brought them to the local Jewish cemetery. One of the three fragments belonged to the matzeva of a man who died in 1885. Click here to see more on local media
Lviv, Ukraine, April – Back in April volunteers from the Lviv Volunteer Center rescued two matzevot used as street paving in two different locations in the city. Both matzevot were brought to the city’s Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook HERE and HERE
Námestovo, Slovakia, September – Volunteers from the Pamätaj association found a matzeva in a cottage close to the city’s Jewish cemetery. Click here to see a picture on Facebook
Nowy Targ, Poland, from Spring to Autumn – Since the beginning of the work at the local Jewish cemetery, the Centrum Foundation, created by former Olympic athlete Dariusz Popiela, rescued several tombstones, which will become part of a lapidarium. Click here to see the latest from Facebook Click here to read a local media report about the recovery
Prostějov, Czech Republic, August – Volunteers from the Hanácký Jeruzalém association transported a large matzeva from the garden of a private citizen in Plumlov to the Jewish cemetery of Prostějov. The matzeva lay for decades in the garden of a private citizen. Last year a cyclist noted the tombstone and informed the Hanácký Jeruzalém association, which contacted the owner of the garden, who agreed in transporting the gravestone to the Jewish cemetery. Click here to read more and watch a TV report about the discovery and the installation of the matzeva in Prostějov’s Jewish cemetery
Rohatyn, Ukraine, from Spring to Autumn – Every year in Rohatyn local residents contact Rohatyn Jewish Heritage to return matzevot fragments found in their properties and have them brought to the Jewish cemeteries. Click here to see the latest on Facebook
Lublin (Poland), October – a beautifully carved 19th century matzeva was renovated by art preservationist Antoni Buchholtz and placed in the city’s cemetery. The stone had been found derelict on the grounds of the cemetery. It was recorded by the Foundation for Documentation of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland, and examined by Prof. Andrzej Trzcynski of the University Marie Curie-Sklodowska in Lublin. Since the exact location of the burial remains unknown, the tombstone was placed on a concrete base, on which information about the buried person is given in Hebrew, English and Polish. The initiative was funded by the descendants of the buried and the Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland. See more information on Facebook and on the web site of the Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland