Jewish Cemetery Clean-ups — Our first round-up of initiatives for 2025. More than 50 actions from 14 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 2025, we list more than 50 actions from 14 countries. We also include clean-up initiatives not limited to Jewish cemeteries, such as the cleaning of Stolpersteine – Stumbling Stones – in Prague, Czech Republic, and the clearing of Holocaust monuments in Lviv, Ukraine, and Gołdap, Poland. Additionally, we highlight a tree-planting activity in a cemetery in Lithuania and ongoing excavation work in a cemetery in the Netherlands.
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 — and add it in the comments!
AUSTRIA
Vienna, Währing Jewish Cemetery, March 9, April 6, May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, September 14, October 19 – 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
BELARUS
Babrujsk, March 20 – Volunteers from the local Jewish community cleaned up the Jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook
Gorodok, ongoing – Local volunteers have been cleaning and restoring the Jewish cemetery since 2023. They document their work on a YouTube channel, showcasing the various tasks they undertake. There have been several poists this spring. Click here to videos on YouTube
CZECH REPUBLIC
Beroun, April – Local people cleaned up the Jewish cemetery, thanks to a collaboration with the Jewish Community in Prague (ŽOP) and the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic (FŽO). Click here to see more on Facebook
Luže, March 23 – Fourteen part-time workers joined local administrator Roman Kostelecký to clean the local Jewish cemetery, focusing on ivy removal. Click here to see more on Facebook
Křinec, March – Thanks to the economic contribution of the descendents of local Jews living abroad, the Jewish Community in Prague (ŽOP) and the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic (FŽO) cleaned the local jewish cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook
Mikulov, August 26 – September 3 – This ASF summer camp invites volunteers, especially those aged 40 and over, to help preserve one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the country, promoting intergenerational collaboration. Click here to find out more
Prague, April 24 – Not a Jewish cemetery clean-up, but still a Jewish-related clean-up — For Yom HaShoah, the Jewish Community of Prague organized a public cleaning of stolpersteine around the city. Click here to read more
Prague, New Jewish Cemetery, April – A student group from Helsinki visited the New Jewish Cemetery, visited Franz Kafka’s tomb, and helped clear fallen branches. Click here to see more on Facebook
Přistoupim, March 23 – A clean-up session took place at the Jewish cemetery in this village in central Bohemia, organized, in cooperation with the ŽOP and FŽO, 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 Click HERE to see more info on Facebook
Telice, March – The TAMUS NGO and local volunteers carried out maintenance at this local cemetery in West Bohemia, with dead trees cleared—thanks to caretaker Miloslav Barnas. Click here to see more on Facebook
Žatec, April and ongoing – The Jewish cemetery has been restored by the Association of Natives and Friends of Žatec. Volunteers from the association cleared undergrowth, fallen trees, bushes, and invasive plants. During this process, they uncovered and cleaned 15 graves with tombstones that had previously been thought to be lost. The cemetery was opened to the public as part of the town’s tourist attractions in early April and will be open on specific dates. There is new signage, and a new exhibit about local Jewish history has been mounted in the ceremonial hall. Click here to read more on local media Click HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE to see pictures and more, including opening dates, on the cemetery’s FB page
GERMANY
Güstrow, April 12 – Volunteers from the “Güstrow Jewish Remembrance Initiative” cleaned up the local Jewish cemetery, continuing ongoing efforts to restore and maintain the site. Click here to read more from local media
Ingenheim, from spring to autumn – Since 1999, and now led by Bernd Jantzer, a volunteer group meets every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for about half the year to maintain the local Jewish cemetery. Click here to read more
HUNGARY
Budapest, March – American and local students from the Schreiber School cleaned up graves at Budapest’s Kozma Street Cemetery as part of the Gesher Ambassador Program. Click here to read more
Gyula, March – The area around the Shoah monument in the Jewish cemetery was restored and cleaned thanks to donations. Click here to read more Click HERE for an online database of the cemetery
Hajdúsámson and Szabadszállás, April – In Hajdúsámson, the cemetery was cleaned and mowed by the Kakas Heritage Foundation, while in Szabadszállás, retired officer Imre Finta oversees the well-maintained site. Both actions were agreed and supervised by the MAZSIHISZ. Click here to read more on MAZSIHISZ website
Rackeve, April – Local volunteers cleaned-up the Jewish cemetery. Click here to watch a video on YouTube
Tata, April – The Tata City Manager Association employees recently tidied up the local Jewish cemetery, including the resting place of the actor Robert Downey Jr.’s distant ancestors. Click here to read more on MAZSIHISZ website
LATVIA
Višķi, August 4-13 – This action is being organized for the fourth 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 an open-air museum, and during the summer camp, two signposts will also be unveiled. Click here to see more
LITHUANIA
Joniškis, August 3-11 – Organized by the ASF, in collaboration with MACEVA, this summer camp aims to preserve the town’s Jewish heritage and gather information for the inventory of the local Jewish cemetery. Activities will include cleaning and tidying the cemetery, digitizing and mapping graves, and documenting legible inscriptions. Click here to read more
Panevėžys, April 5– The local Jewish Community organized a tree planting campaign at the Old Jewish Cemetery, planting around 40 trees to restore the site and replace storm-damaged ones. Click here to read more
Užventis, April 25 — To celebrate the National Library Week of Lithuania, Regina Karpiene, of the Užventis library, historian Laurynas Giedrimas, and Christa Whitney, head of the Vexler oral history project of the Yiddish Book Center, organized a clean-up and documentation action at the surviving Jewish cemetery of Užventis. Click HERE and HERE to reads reports of the initiative
Vilkija, foreseen – A new cooperation agreement signed between Kaunas District Mayor Valerijus Makūnas and Rabbi Elchonon Baronas, President of the organization “Jewish Heritage in Lita” and the Head of the Ahavas Torah Baranovich Yeshiva in Jerusalem, includes a key commitment to clean up the local Jewish cemetery. Click here to read more
THE NETHERLANDS
Hengelo, March 9 – The kick off of the cleaning up season at the local Jewish cemetery by the Friends of the “Hengelo Jewish Cemetery Association” was made by volunteer 80-year-old Hennie Letteboer. Click here to see more on Facebook
Lekkerkerk, April – The over 150-year-old local Jewish cemetery, renovated by Driestar College students with the support of conservation experts and NIK support, was officially reopened on April 23. Click here to read more on local media
Muiderberg, ongoing – Since this spring, excavations on section A of what is the largest Jewish cemetery in The Netherlands have uncovered lost gravestones, revealing insights into the early history of the Jewish community in the Netherlands, thanks to volunteers from the Het Stenen Archief (The Stone Archive) foundation, which has an ongoing project to clear and restore the oldest and overgrown part of the cemetery. Click HERE and HERE to read more about it Click here to read 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. Each project focuses on cleaning and clearing a cemetery that has become overgrown and possibly neglected. Volunteers from the Foundation and its partners are joined by volunteers from local communities and worldwide. Click here to see details on TMF website Click HERE to see more on JHE
- Rzeszów, April 22-25 – This project in southeast Poland was a joint cooperation between several groups. TMF partnered with Sally Mizroch, In Memory of Jewish Rzeszów, Stowarzyszenie Rajsze, and Cmentarz żydowski w Rzeszowie to conduct the clean-up. Click here to read more on local media
- Zambrów, July 2-9 – TMF returns to Zambrów, the location of their first cemetery project as an organization in 2012. They’ll be partnering with JewishGenand Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland for the Greenspan L’Dor V’Dor Legacy Program. A group of university students will be traveling throughout Poland learning about the rich Zambrów of the country. A portion of their journey will be spent in Zambrów to clean this beautiful cemetery.
- Żychlin, July 14-18 – Mid-July will find TMF back in Żychlin for a second year. They’ll continue to clear this cemetery of its tall grass and brush which began last summer. They’ll be joining forces with a dedicated group of descendants, friends, and students led by Professor Marysia Galbraith of the University of Alabama who is also the president of The Association of Descendants of Jewish Central Poland.
- Grójec, July 28-31 – TMF summer will conclude its 2025 activities in Grójec, outside of Warsaw. They’ll be partnering with a local Baptist church and other volunteers to clean this small cemetery.
Białystok, August 3-15 – The Białystok Cemetery Restoration Fund invites volunteers to join its annual cleanup and documentation session at the Bagnówka Jewish Cemetery, with a Ghetto Commemoration event on August 16. Click here to read more on their website Click HERE to read more on JHE
Błażowa, April 4 – Volunteers from the local NGO “Save from Oblivion” gathered to clean up the local Jewish cemetery for the second year, with the support of the FODŻ. Click here to see more on Facebook
Gliwice, Old Jewish Cemetery, ongoing – Local volunteers clean up the old Jewish cemetery all year round, creating partnership with local institutions, such as schools. This year, they have already worked at the cemetery on April 14, March 23, March 9, February 27. Click here to see more on their Facebook page
Gołdap, March – The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage (FODZ) commissioned the cleaning of the area around the Holocaust memorial at the site of the demolished synagogue in Gołdap, carried out by the local Municipal Utilities Company. Click here to see more
Łódź, April and ongoing– The local Jewish Community cleaned up part of a section of the sprawling Jewish cemetery after the unveiling of a matzevah. However, as it is possible to see from their Facebook page, paid staff from the cemetery routinely take care and clean up the cemetery. Click here to see more on Facebook
Łowicz, February 17 – FODZ carried out work on vegetation maintenance at the Jewish cemetery. Click here to read more
Myszyniec, April 29 – A clean-up action led by Barbara Wojciulewicz which involved local volunteers and refugees, with support from the Municipal Utilities Plant and FODZ. Click here to read more
Ożarów, January/February – The Ożarów municipality cleaned up the local Jewish cemetery. These were the first cleaning works carried out on such a scale since 2001. Click here to read more https://fodz.pl/?d=2&id=2466&l=pl See pictures of the cleaned cemetery here https://fodz.pl/index.php?d=8&id=381&l=pl
Przysucha, April-May. On April 30, local highschool students and other volunteers cleaned up the Jewish cemetery. See more (and pictures) on FacebookAround the same time, hundreds of fragments of tombstones that had been used to build a barn were returned to the Jewish cemetery. Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś financed this work from the income from the book “Christians and Jews From Jesus to the Inquisition. XV Centuries of Difficult Relations”. See pictures on Facebook
Szczuczyn, February – With support from the Nissenbaum Family Foundation, cleaning works were carried out as part of efforts to preserve the site’s heritage and commemorate those buried there, including victims of the 1941 massacre. The cemetery came under the ownership of FODZ in march 2024. Click here to read more
Warsaw, March (and ongoing) – Restoration, clean-up, archaeology, and other work continues on a regular basis at the vast Okopowa st. Jewish cemetery. In one action, a group of young volunteers from the church of Santa Barbara cleaned one of the sections of the Cemetery. Click here to find more on Facebook Read about archaeological research in the cemetery HERE
Wrocław, New Jewish Cemetery, August 24 – September 3 – The ASF invites primarily people aged 40 and over, but is open to anyone who is interested, to clean up the cemetery. The focus this year is on the old, largest part of the cemetery, which served as a final resting place until the end of the Second World War. This place was neglected for a long time and has been damaged in many places. The northern half is heavily overgrown and there are numerous graves in need of care. Click here to find out more
ROMANIA
Volunteers from the Jewish community of Zalău have been cleaning up and restoring various Jewish cemeteries in the province, including:
Băbeni, March – Click here to find more on Facebook
Bobota, March – Click here to find more on Facebook
Crasna, April – Click here to see more on Facebook
Hida, March – Clearing is underway at the two local Jewish cemeteries. Click here to see more
Lozna, March – Cleaning of the local Jewish cemetery is completed; next steps include tombstone restoration and fence repairs. Click here to find out more
Meseșenii de Sus, ongoing – Click here to see more on Facebook
Șimleu Silvaniei, from February and ongoing – Work at the local Jewish cemetery includes cleaning it and deforestating it, in order to build a fence around its two hectare area. Click here to see more on Facebook
SERBIA
Savino Selo, April – The ESJF launched its first 2025 project by clearing the Jewish cemetery in Savino Selo, Serbia, ahead of fencing. Click here to see more on Facebook
SLOVAKIA
Michal nad Žitavou, March – The clean-up action took place at the Jewish cemetery carried out by the FONTIS civic association. Click here to see more on Facebook
Krásna, ongoing – Volunteers have been gradually renovating the local abandoned Jewish cemetery as part of the “Unforgettable Neighbors in Krásna” project, aiming to preserve its history and create a place of remembrance. Click here to read more
Považská Bystrica, April 12 – Local volunteers carried out clean up in 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
Lviv, April – Volunteers from the Lviv Volunteer Center cleaned-up and painted part of the Memorial of the Victims of Lviv Ghetto. Click here to see more on Facebook
Rivne, April – In Rivne Oblast, eco-inspectors collective cleaned up the old Jewish cemetery in Rivne—locally known as “Yevreyka Park”—a historically significant site with Jewish gravestones in need of research. Click here to read more
Rohatyn, ongoing — The annual work by volunteers, organized by Rohatyn Jewish Heritage, maintaining the new Jewish cemetery, the old Jewish cemetery, and two mass graves got under way at the end of April/beginning of May and continues until fall. Click to see more on Facebook
Romny, April 7 – Romny Community Volunteers and members of the local Jewish community joined forces to clean up the local Jewish cemetery. Click here to read more
Sumy, May 4 — Volunteers from the JDC-supported Hesed Haim social service center in Sumy, spent the day cleaning up a local Jewish cemetery. Click to see photos on Facebook