Jewish Heritage Europe

New Have Your Say by Piotr Puchta — On the permanent preservation of synagogues in Poland: the need for synergies and strategic thinking.

Synagogue in Łęczna, Poland, August 2018

After a lengthy hiatus, we have a new Have Your Say personal essay — this one from Piotr Puchta the CEO of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ). It’s titled On the permanent preservation of synagogues … continue reading →

Turkey: Amid the overwhelming devastation of the earthquakes in Turkey, three synagogues appear to have survived

The devastating series of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria earlier this month reduced cities to rubble, obliterated centuries-old cultural heritage, and left more than 50,000 dead and as many as 1.5 million or more homeless. The toll — both in … continue reading →

Poland update: Second historic mikvah — this one a unique example of one made of wood — discovered in Oświęcim, the town in southern Poland where the Nazis built the Auschwitz death camp

Remnants of a second historic Mikvah have been discovered during construction of a parking lot  in Oświęcim, the town in southern Poland where the Nazis built the Auschwitz death camp. This one is wooden — believed unique in Europe — … continue reading →

Hungary: an art historian hikes the perimeter of Budapest’s vast Kozma street Jewish cemetery to make an exciting discovery — a long forgotten monument by the noted architect Béla Lajta

(JHE) — An intrepid art historian acting on a hunch hiked along the perimeter of Budapest’s vast Kozma street Jewish cemetery to make an exciting discovery — a long forgotten sculptural monument by the noted architect Béla Lajta that marks … continue reading →

Hungary: The Friends of Budapest Jewish Cemetery organization reports its “best year ever” cleaning up the vast Kozma street Jewish cemetery

The non-profit Friends of Budapest Jewish Cemetery organization carried out extensive clean-up work at the city’s vast Kozma street Jewish cemetery this past year, cleaning an area of 6.85 hectares (17 acres) encompassing 21,873 graves. It was “our best year … continue reading →