Volunteer to help clean up the old Jewish cemetery in Gliwice
Inauguration of the restored synagogue on the island of Kos.
A new Ark and Bimah and other interior furnishings have been installed and — after decades out of its original use — the building will be rededicated as an active house of Jewish worship.
The Kos synagogue was built in the mid-1930s to replace an older synagogue that was destroyed in an earthquake in April 1933. It was abandoned after the near-total destruction of the circa 120 member Jewish community during the Holocaust, and then was purchased by the Municipality around 1984 and used as a local cultural centre.
The annual Day of Jewish Monuments in the Czech Republic, sponsored by the Prague Jewish Community, the Federation of Jewish Communities and others.
Click to see the preliminary program
The conference starts on the 12th of September at 18:00 at German Historical Institute and ends on the 14th of September at 16:30 in POLIN – Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
The synagogues that remained standing after World War II have facedan uncertain destiny. As abandoned buildings,they were susceptible to decay quickly and, as former buildings of worship, for legal, cultural and architectural reasons, posed a great challenge in terms of their reuse. Consequently, many synagogues simply fell into ruins, some were turned into secular buildings of various purposes, and few could have been used as houses of prayer again.
In postwar Europe, synagogue architecture was culturally categorized as an element of Jewish heritage that appeared to be isolated from the common heritage of a city or town – wherever a synagogue stood.
At first, synagogues were not considered a shared but a distinct patrimony of a place. A shift in such a state of affairs could have been observed in the last three decades that witnessed a ‘rediscovery’ of synagogues. Though one can still find abandoned synagogues in small towns, in most of the bigger municipalities, these buildings were ‘rediscovered’ as a part of local history and culture and thus became part of the common heritage. In many regions of Europe, the ‘rediscovery’ of the former synagogues led to their restoration and opening to the public, and in rare cases, to their reuse by Jewish communities.
The aim of the conference is a historicization of the processes of rediscovery in the recent past.
Conference on the role of Jewish culture and history in contemporary Europe.
The congress’ program consists of sessions, discussions and workshops aimed at exchanging good practices, discussing perspectives and challenges related to the protection and popularization of Jewish cultural heritage. Below we present the framework program of the main panel.
Click here to see details and program
On December 11-12, the Liberation Route Europe Foundation is organizing a memory project conference titled “When Memory Meets Dialogue – Role of Remembrance Sites and Contemporary Challenges” in Krakow, Poland. This event, in partnership with Oscar Schindler’s Enamel Factory, a branch of the Museum of Krakow, is part of the EU-funded European Days of Jewish Culture (EDJC) 2023, coordinated by the AEPJ.
The conference agenda encompasses sessions focusing on Jewish and WWII heritage. Discussions will revolve around memory transmission and the contemporary significance of remembrance sites. The primary goal is to offer a meaningful platform for idea exchange, nurture cross-cultural understanding, and stimulate international discourse on historical memory and contemporary challenges. As part of the programme, participants can also explore guided tours and historical city walks in Krakow.
Jewish cemetery clean-up, organised by the oPŘISe, z. s. NGO
Work will entail removal of ivy from gravestones and other necessary activities. Bring your own tools (sickles, scissors, machetes). Men need to wear head covering. Refreshments will be provided.
After many decades, the synagogue and rabbinical house in Žatec will be ceremonially opened. Both monuments have undergone complete reconstruction in recent years and will now serve as a museum and cultural space.
The celebrations will include performances by the Žatec Occasional Choir and the Camerata children’s choir at the ZUŠ in Žatec.
Long empty and in deteriorating condition, the synagogue and rabbi’s house were bought in 2013 by Daniel Černý, who from 2019 oversaw a full-scale renovation of the buildings that was completed in 2022. Most of the €2 million costs of the project were covered with grants from the state and the EU.
The rescue and restoration of the synagogue won the Patrimonium pro futuro Award in the Monument Protection category.
NOTE: The program on March 22 will begin at 5 p.m.
After many decades, the synagogue and rabbinical house in Žatec will be ceremonially opened. Both monuments have undergone complete reconstruction in recent years and will now serve as a museum and cultural space.
The celebrations will include performances by the Žatec Occasional Choir and the Camerata children’s choir at the ZUŠ in Žatec.
Long empty and in deteriorating condition, the synagogue and rabbi’s house were bought in 2013 by Daniel Černý, who from 2019 oversaw a full-scale renovation of the buildings that was completed in 2022. Most of the €2 million costs of the project were covered with grants from the state and the EU.
The rescue and restoration of the synagogue won the Patrimonium pro futuro Award in the Monument Protection category.
NOTE: The program on March 22 will begin at 5 p.m.
The International Conference on Cemetery Studies, organized by the Harokopio University in collaboration with the University of York, will take place from 18 to 20 April 2024 at the Harokopio University in Athens, Greece.
The event will bring together a wide spread of academics, presenting their latest research findings concerning various aspects of cemeteries (end of 18th century onwards), including history, art and culture, anthropology, geography, social studies, and cemetery tourism.
The conference fee is 30 euros (15 euros for doctoral students). The fee includes a light lunch, refreshments, and a guided tour in the historical cemetery of Athens.
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