Jewish Cemetery Clean-ups — Our first round-up of initiatives for 2024. More than 40 actions from 13 countries

Every year on Jewish Heritage Europe, we post round-ups of initiatives and projects aimed at restoring and cleaning up Jewish cemeteries all over Europe. We feel it so important to highlight these initiatives, which are often overlooked or ignored.

Most of these actions are carried out by volunteers, and some take place within the framework of longstanding international volunteer programs, such as those of the U.S.-based Matzevah Foundation (TMF) and Germany’s Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ASF). Some are organized by Jewish communities, local governments, civic bodies, or NGOs (such as the ESJF-European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative). 

In this first round-up of 2024, we list more than 40 actions from 13 countries. The list includes initiatives that have taken place, and those we know are planned. Planned and underway actions are marked in orange. For each initiative, we provide a link or links to further information on local media, Facebook, or an organization’s website.

We know we have missed some — if you don’t see your project on this list, let us know!

 

AUSTRIA

Vienna, Währing Jewish Cemetery, March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9, July 14, August 11, September 8, October 13 – Regular clean-ups organized by the Association “Save The Jewish Cemetery of Währing.” They take place once a month, from March to October, and include the removal of vegetation and fallen leaves. The organizers provide gloves, scissors, rakes, and other equipment, but volunteers are also welcome to bring their own. Registration is not required. Click here to see more on the association’s website  

 

CZECH REPUBLIC

Brandýs nad Labem, January – The TAMUS NGO cut ivy and cleaned many gravestones in order to carry out a detailed photographic documentation of the first half of the Jewish cemetery of Brandýs, near Prague, which has been completed. Click here to see more on Facebook 

Břeclav, April — The local municipality has organized this event annually since 2009. Young students from local schools meet to clean up the Jewish cemetery. Click here to read more from local media

 Jablunkov, April – Participants of an ecumenical meeting at the local Museum of the Bible, along with city hall employees and other volunteers, cleaned up several sites in the town, including the Jewish cemetery. “While the cemetery maintenance is the responsibility of technical services, volunteers are cleaning up the old Jewish cemetery. We clean tombstones, remove moss, collect branches, pull out ivy, and remove invasive plants damaging the old stone wall,” the local mayor explained. Click here to see more in local media 

Litomyšl Lány, April and foreseen – Local volunteers mowed the greenery close to and inside the Jewish cemetery. More work is foreseen for this spring and summer. Click here to see more on Facebook 

Somewhere in Moravia, September 10-18 – This year, the ASF plans to work in the Czech Republic again; they will be at a Jewish cemetery in Moravia, within a radius of approx. 100 km from Brno. A precise place will be decided only later this Spring, but registration is already open. Click here to read more on the ASF’s website

Mořina, April – Volunteers from the Prague Unitarian Community cleaned up the area around the local Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook 

Prague, New Jewish Cemetery, March/April –  Volunteers and employees hired by the Jewish Community in Prague (ŽOP) and the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic (FŽO) through Matana, worked at the local Jewish cemetery, cleaning it and restoring its tombstones. Click HERE and HERE to see more on Facebook 

Přistoupim, March 17 – A clean-up session took place at the Jewish cemetery in this village in central Bohemia, organized by the NGO oPŘISe, which since 2018 has organized two volunteer clean-ups per year at the cemetery, one in the fall and another one in the spring. Click here to see pictures on Facebook

 

GERMANY

Emden, ongoing – Ewald Warfsmann, a local citizen, volunteers alone to look after the Jewish cemetery on Bollwerkstrasse. Click here to read more in local media 

 

HUNGARY

Budapest, ongoing – The Friends of Budapest Jewish Cemetery NGO works to clean and restore the vast Kozma Street Jewish cemetery in Budapest throughout the year, with a brief pause during the winter. Click HERE to access the NGO’s Facebook page  Click HERE to read about 2024 work so far on the NGO website 

Kővágóörs, March – Volunteers from the Foundation of the Káli Basin Synagogue cleaned up the local Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook 

Őrbottyán, April – Local teacher István Banda recently covered the Second World War and the Holocaust in the 7th-grade class he teaches. Inspired by the lesson, one student cleaned up the neglected Jewish graves in the local Jewish cemetery. This effort later involved four students and took place on the first day of spring break. Click here to read more from MAZSIHISZ website  

Toponár, March – Thanks to coordinated efforts and supportive assistance, the Jewish cemetery in Toponár has been renewed. The project was a result of the collaboration between ESJF and the MAZSIHISZ, with funding from the family of Rabbi Tovia Katz (1827-1879), who is buried there. Work included erecting a new fence, thoroughly cleaning the area of wild vegetation, and re-erecting and strengthening the gravestones. Click here to watch a video on YouTube that shows the work  Read a Mazsihisz article about it HERE 

 

LATVIA

Višķi, August 19-29 – This summer work camp is being organized for the third time by ASF, the association “Drei Stufen e.V.” (Osnabrück), and the local community.  Restoration, gardening and cleaning work at the Jewish cemetery will be carried out under the guidance of specialised staff .Volunteers will contribute to the construction of a future open-air ensemble museum, and during the summer camp, two signposts will also be unveiled. Registration is now open.  Click here to see more

 

MOLDOVA

Chișinău, April 14 – The cleaning of the Jewish cemetery, organized by the Jewish Museum of History in the Republic of Moldova, saw the participation of both museum staff and their friends: from students and teachers (both from Jewish and non-Jewish schools) to representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in the Republic of Moldova and international organizations. Click here to see more on Facebook

Rîbnița, April 14 – Members of the local Jewish community from Hesed Rachel Rybnitsa and Hesed Tiraspol, a total of about 20 volunteers, participated in cleaning the old and new Jewish cemeteries. The volunteers received certificates and souvenir T-shirts. Click here to see more on Facebook

 

THE NETHERLANDS

Deventer, August 1-10 – The ASF and the Etty Hillesum Centrum organize this summer work camp. Young people from different countries will meet in Deventer and help make the inscriptions on the gravestones in the Jewish cemetery legible again, learn about the life of Etty Hillesum, take part in educational sessions, and visit memorial sites. Registration is open. Click here to read more on the ASF’s website 

Hengelo, ongoing. For the past four years, volunteers from the Friends of the Hengelo Jewish Cemetery Association have been meeting  almost every Sunday to carry out clean-up and maintenance of the Jewish cemetery. In April, along with the Hengelo Jewish Cemetery Maintenance Foundation, they have refreshed the lettering of epitaphs so that they are legible.  See more on Facebook  

 Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, every Wednesday – From 8:30 a.m. to sunset, the management of the Beth Haim Portuguese (Sephardic) Jewish cemetery welcomes volunteers to clean up and restore the cemetery. The management provides all the tools and other materials, and at 1 PM, a kosher lunch is served for the volunteers. If you are interested in participating, you can email to [email protected]. The volunteer action takes place throughout the year and is suspended only due to rain or snow. Click here to read more on the cemetery website 

 

POLAND

The Matzevah Foundation, in cooperation with several partners, carries out Jewish cemetery work in several towns. However, there are two where volunteers are welcome — in Nowogród and Żychlin.  Click here to see further details 

• Przysucha, April 29-May 4–  TMF returns to Przysucha to continue non-invasive archeological research and clean the cemetery. They’ll be partnering again with Jewish Przysucha and Professor Radoslaw Ptaszynski, as well as students and staff from The University of Szczecin (Poland) and Staffordshire University (England). Support is provided by The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ).
• Nowogród, June 14-22 – TMF’s first time in Nowogród. Partners include descendants of Nowogród and their friends and the City of Nowogród, owners of the cemetery. TMF also collaborates with the FODZ and Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland. The work will focus on clearing the overgrowth of vegetation around the cemetery, which contains 18 standing matzevot.
• Żychlin, June 28- July 6 – Another new location. Located in the Lódź region of Poland, TMF will be collaborating again with FODZ  and joining forces with a group of descendants and friends led by Professor Marysia Galbraith of the University of Alabama, who is the president of The Association of Descendants of Jewish Central Poland. Volunteers are welcome. 
• Krasnystaw, July 15-17 –For a fourth year, TMF is  supporting the Future Scholars Program from JewishGen. Along with Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland, a group of university students will tour important Jewish sites around Poland before gathering in Krasnystaw for several days of work in the Jewish cemetery. The team will also be joined by volunteers from Studnia Pamięci in Lublin. Along with the work in the cemetery, there will also be discussions and learning opportunities in the evenings.
• Zawiercie, August 2-10– The team will be made up of several groups including an active descendants group, Zaglebie World Organization, JewishGen Neshema Project, Brentwood Baptist Church in Tennessee, and the City of Zawiercie along with local volunteers.  Click here to read more 

Białystok, July 29-August 17 – The Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund is seeking volunteers to participate in restoration work at the Bagnowka Jewish cemetery for its Summercamp 2024. All volunteers must be pre-approved to participate. If interested, please email BCRF Chair Josh Degen [email protected]. Click here to see more on their website 

Gliwice, Old Jewish Cemetery, March 21 and ongoing– Volunteers from the II High School in Gliwice removed a container of mixed waste from the cemetery as well as branches and fallen leaves. Click here to see more on Facebook 

• And – there are opportunities to help clean up the cemetery on May 1, 2, and 5. See details on Facebook 

Łódź, April 21 – The first seasonal clean-up in the Jewish cemetery by the “Guardians of Remembrance” NGO took place on April 21. The NGO  organizes volunteers to clean up the cemetery from Spring to Autumn. Click here to see more on Facebook

Nowy Targ, April– Students from a local private high school participated in a volunteer clean up in the Jewish cemetery under the supervision of the NGO “People, Not Numbers.” Click here to see more on Facebook 

Oświęcim, August 10-20 – Organized by the ASF, volunteers at an international educational summer camp at the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim/ Auschwitz will also carry out hands-on maintenance and upkeep work at the Oświęcim Jewish cemetery, including clearing weeds and undergrowth and cleaning gravestones. Click here to see more on the ASF website 

Pabianice, April 14 and May 12 – Volunteers from the Pabianicki Sztetl organized a first clean-up of the season on April 14 and are organizing the next one on May 12. Click here to see more on Facebook

Warsaw, February – Financed by the Foundation for Cultural Heritage and carried out by the archeological firm “Wykop na Poziomie,” work was carried out in section 21 of the vast Okopowa Street cemetery in Warsaw. Click here to see more on Facebook 

Wrocław, June 15-23, and August 24-September 1 – The ASF will organize two clean-up camps here this year. They are open to intergenerational groups of older adults and young people. When registering, please indicate whether you would like to participate in the summer camp in June or in August. Click here to read more on the ASF website 

 

ROMANIA

Alba Iulia, July 4-12 – Registration is open for volunteers to participate in the local historic Jewish cemetery’s annual clean-up and restoration camp. Places are limited, so register soon—registrations close May 31.  The camp focus includes restoration and preservation of individual gravestones, general site cleaning, lectures, and study sessions. Conservation work (cleaning and treatment of monuments) is overseen by the project manager, the stone restorer Sidonia P. Olea. Click here to read more on JHE 

Zalău, April and ongoing – Every year, volunteers from the Jewish community of Zalău clean and restore the Jewish cemeteries in the province. On April 3, they started with the first clean-up of the season, at the Jewish cemetery in Zalău. Click here to see more on Facebook

 

SERBIA

Temerin, February – As the first stage of its fencing work, the ESJF cleared the vegetation at the local Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook 

Zrenjanin, April 7 – Volunteers from J-Serve, Jewish Teens Serving the World, cleaned up the local Jewish cemetery and the Holocaust memorial. Click here to see more on Facebook (you may have to join the group to see details) 

 

SLOVAKIA

Hronský Beňadik, April – The ESJF cleared the local Jewish cemetery before starting to work fencing it. Click here to see more on Facebook 

Námestovo, March 21 – Pupils from a local elementary school, assisted by other volunteers, cleaned up the Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook 

Považská Bystrica, April 6 – Local volunteers gathered to clean up the Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook

 

UNITED KINGDOM

London, ongoing – The Willesden Jewish Cemetery, which operates as a site of public heritage as well as an active cemetery, is looking for volunteers. Gardening, research, organizational skills for administration, or  storytelling as a tour guide…. Click here to see more on their website

 

UKRAINE

Ivankiv, February – The ESJF cleaned the Jewish cemetery, which was fenced by the same organization in 2015. Click here to see more on Facebook

Rohatyn, from Spring to Autumn – The Rohatyn Jewish Heritage (RJH) will start its annual maintenance of the town’s two Jewish cemeteries (and mass grave memorials) in the coming weeks. The yearly maintenance usually lasts until autumn. Click here to see more on Facebook