Jewish Heritage Europe

Jewish Cemetery Clean-ups 2025 — Round-up #3. More than 80 initiatives in 14 countries. (We know we’ve missed some, so please add in the comments)

Volunteers clean the Jewish cemetery in Łódź, Poland, June 15, 2025

At the beginning of May and in mid-July we published our first and second round-ups for 2025, showcasing some of the many Jewish cemetery clean-up initiatives taking place this spring and summer in various European countries.   Here’s a third round-up … continue reading →

Call for Papers: International conference Transformation of Heritage, Heritage of Transformation. Political Change and Its Impact on Synagogues, to be held October 12–14, 2026 in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Deadline for submissions – January 31, 2026

We are pleased to share this Call for Papers for the international conference Transformation of Heritage, Heritage of Transformation. Political Change and Its Impact on Synagogues, to be held October 12–14, 2026 in Klaipeda, Lithuania.  Deadline for submissions – January … continue reading →

Jewish cemeteries: The ESJF publishes as online books its surveys of Jewish cemeteries in Poland and Slovakia.

The European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF) has published as online books its surveys of Jewish cemeteries in Poland and Slovakia. The books are published in the ISSUU format and are searchable and sharable. Both cover extant cemeteries and destroyed cemetery … continue reading →

Poland: Sukkoth 2025 — Sukkahs and symbolism; with news of the Sukkah Project, conserving a historic sukkah from the town of Izbica

The Jewish holiday of Sukkoth, the “festival of booths,” starts tonight and lasts a week. It is both a harvest festival and a commemoration of the years Jews spent wandering in the desert in Biblical times. Jews traditionally build temporary … continue reading →

Austria: Mazel tov to Johannes Reiss, honored by Austria’s Burgenland region for his longtime work at the Austrian Jewish Museum and commitment to preserving Jewish cultural heritage

Johannes Reiss in the Jewish cemetery, Kobersdorf, Austria

Mazel tov to Johannes Reiss, former longtime director of the Austrian Jewish Museum in Eisenstadt, who has received a lifetime achievement award from Austria’s Burgenland region. Reiss was awarded the Simon-Goldberger Prize for memory and memorial culture, commemorative category  “for … continue reading →