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Spain: Mediaeval cemetery to re-open – Germany: Town commemorates deportees, memorial plaques vandalised, research project completed, cemetery to be restored – United Kingdom: Illegal dumping at Jewish cemetery – Russia: New Jewish cemetery in Moscow – Romania: Holocaust memorial unveiled. |
11th-Century Jewish Cemetery to Be Re-opened to Visitors in Andalusia
25 October – The Jewish cemetery in Lucena, located between Córdoba and Granada, is likely to be re-opened to visitors before the end of the year. The 11th-century burial ground was rediscovered during roadworks in 2007. Currently stored at the municipal museum, the 116 graves which were exhumed at the time of discovery will be returned to the site before the completion of the restoration works. The local municipality, which has been restoring the cemetery, has applied for additional funds from regional cultural authorities to develop the site for tourism. The Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain is involved with the project. Read the original article (in Spanish).
German Town Commemorates Deportees
22 October – In the German town of Lützelsachsen, an ecumenical youth project has been co-ordinating commemorative activities for local Holocaust victims. As part of the project, memorial stones were erected at the town’s Jewish cemetery as well as at the site of deportations. A local Holocaust survivor spoke at the ceremony of unveiling.Read the original article (in German).
Information Plaques Vandalised at Prenzlau Jewish Cemetery
15 October – Three information plaques at a Jewish cemetery in the town of Prenzlau in eastern Germany were covered with red and black colour. Municipal authorities have since cleaned the site. Police have launched an investigation. Read the original article (in German).
Dumping at Jewish Cemetery in Northern Ireland
14 October – Litter has been dumped repeatedly at the Jewish cemetery in Newtownabbey near Belfast. Since several clean-ups have not put an end to the problem, municipal authorities are currently preparing to fence the site. Read the original article.
New Jewish Cemetery to Open in Moscow
9 October 2009 – Moscow authorities have allotted land for a new Jewish cemetery in the city. The burial ground will provide land for 5,000 graves and is scheduled to open before December 2010. Since Jewish sections in other cemeteries throughout the city are filling up, the authorities decided to establish the new burial ground, to be located in Borovskoye Shosse. Read the original article.
Romania Unveils Holocaust Memorial
8 October – A Holocaust memorial was inaugurated in the Romanian capital Bucharest. Designed by Romanian sculptor Peter Jacobi, the monument commemorates Romanian Jews and Roma killed in the Holocaust. The monument’s inauguration comes six years after the country’s government established a commission headed by Romanian-born Nobel prize laureate Elie Wiese to research the history of the Holocaust in Romania. The country’s president Traian Basescu, government officials as well as Holocaust survivors attended the opening ceremony. Read the original article.
Epigraphic Research on Rüthen Jewish Cemetery Completed
6 October 2009 – Nathanja Hüttenmeister has completed her research on the Jewish cemetery in Rüthen (see Lo Tishkach Cemetery Watch June-July 2009). On 5 November, the researcher affiliated with the Duisburg Steinheim Institute will present the results of her research on 80 gravestones to a local audience. The following day, a visit of the 16th-century cemetery will take place. Information on the gravestones will also be available on the Institute’s epigraphic database. Read the original article (in German).
Strausberg Jewish Cemetery to be Restored
5 October – The Strausberg municipality in Germany agreed to provide funding for the restoration of the local Jewish cemetery. After divers found fragments of a Jewish gravestone in a nearby lake, a group of volunteers decided to campaign for the demarcation of the burial ground, which was razed to the ground in the 1960s. The project goal is to demarcate the cemetery and return gravestones to the site. Read the original article (in German).
http://www.moz.de/index.php/Moz/Article/category/Strausberg/id/299087
September-October – Jewish Cemetery News from Poland
At the Jewish cemetery in Aleksandrow Kujawski, the local municipality erected a memorial marker.
In Bilgoraj, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ) renovated the Jewish cemetery as part of the ‘Chassidic Route’ project. Among other things, the site was equipped with a gate.
A lapidarium and a memorial marker were unveiled at the Jewish cemetery in Kraskow. Prior to the unveiling ceremony, local students had cleaned the burial ground. Funding for the memorial marker was provided by FODZ.
At the Jewish cemetery in Izbica, FODZ erected a memorial marker. The cemetery is currently undergoing full restoration.
Clean-up works are currently being carried out at the Jewish cemetery in Nowy Zmigrod. In co-operation with FODZ, a local group has maintained the cemetery on a regular basis since December 2008. About 500 gravestones remain at the 18th-century burial ground.
A Holocaust memorial was desecrated at the Jewish cemetery in the town of Klodzko, located in south-western Poland, where vandals covered a plaque with paint. The incident comes after many years of successful maintenance co-operation between local volunteers and FODZ.
