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Germany: Two men charged with cemetery desecration, 19th century gravestones at risk of collapse, New cemetery planned in east Germany – Hungary: Cemetery desecrated repeatedly –Lithuania: Cemetery Dispute Settled – Netherlands: Volunteers clean cemetery – Poland: Gdansk Jewish cemetery vandalised – Spain: Medieval Jewish cemetery re-opened |
Gdansk Jewish Cemetery Vandalised
7 September – Vandals desecrated the Gdansk Jewish cemetery, spraying anti-Semitic graffiti at the cemetery’s entrance. The police have launched an investigation. In recent years, the site containing graves dating back to the 19th century has been vandalised repeatedly. Read the original article.
Plasencia Jewish Cemetery Open to Visitors after Restoration
4 September – On the occasion of European Jewish Heritage Day, the Jewish cemetery of Plasencia in the Spanish region of Extremadura was re-opened to visitors. During several months, clean-up and restoration works had been carried out at the site, including the removal of excess vegetation, clearing of pathways and erecting of signposts and plaques. The works were co-ordinated by the cultural authorities of the Junta de Extremadura. Read the original article (in Spanish).
Vilnius Cemetery Dispute Settled
31 August – A multi-year dispute over the site of a Jewish cemetery in Vilnius was settled. The Snipiskes cemetery located in the centre of the Lithuanian capital will receive protected status, under the terms of an agreement between the country’s government and Jewish community. In 2005, the government authorised construction at the site of the cemetery which had been in active use between the 16th and 19th century, and where a sports centre had been built under Soviet rule. In accordance with the agreement, no future construction will take place at the site. Existing buildings, however, will not be demolished. Read the original article.
Clean-up Works at Apeldoorn Jewish Cemetery
29 August 2009 – In the Dutch city of Apeldoorn, an interfaith group of volunteers carried out maintenance works at the local Jewish cemetery. As in previous years, the group cleaned graves and inscriptions, in addition to removing excess vegetation. Read the original article (in Dutch).
Trial Opens after Cemetery Desecrations in Eastern Germany
25 August – Almost ten months after the desecration of two Jewish cemeteries in eastern Germany (see CEMETERY WATCH November & December 2008), German prosecutors have charged two men with acts of vandalism. The accused are believed to be responsible for placing a pig’s head at the entrance of Gotha Jewish cemetery, in addition to pouring pig’s blood at a memorial plaque at the Jewish cemetery in Erfurt. Read the original article.
Jewish Cemetery in Hungary Vandalised Again
25 August – The Jewish cemetery in the northern Hungarian city of Balassagyarmat was desecrated. According to the local Jewish community, the vandals shattered seven marble monuments. Similar acts of vandalism occurred in June this year (see CEMETERY WATCH June 2009). Read the original article.
Gravestones at Risk of Collapse at Offenbach Jewish Cemeteries
25 August – In the German city of Offenbach, a number of gravestones and other structures of the local Jewish cemetery are at risk of collapse. As a result, the cemetery’s old section has been temporarily closed to the public. In co-operation with local stonemasons, the city is currently looking for a solution. Since the cost of restoration of all structures at risk is higher than the annual budget provided by both the federal and regional governments, only 20 gravestones will be fixed this year. Beyond repair are two pyramids consisting of gravestones from another Jewish cemetery in the city, which was closed in 1860 and replaced by a railway line. The structures are likely to be disassembled in order to erect the gravestones individually. Read the original article (in German).
Frankfurt (Oder) Jewish Community Planning New Cemetery
21 August – The Jewish community in the eastern German city of Frankfurt (Oder) purchased land for a new cemetery. Prior to World War II, the community used to bury its deceased members in the Jewish cemetery located on the other side of the Oder River, which is now part of the Polish city of Slubice. Having grown in the past two decades thanks to the arrival of Jews from the former Soviet Union, the community decided to buy land for a new cemetery. The area of the new burial ground is located next to the municipal cemetery and was purchased from the city authorities for 14,500 Euros, provided by the Brandenburg regional association of Jewish communities. Read the original article (in German).
Maintenance and Restoration at Jewish Cemeteries in Poland
21 August – The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ) has co-ordinated clean-up works at the Jewish cemeteries in Izbica. In Zwierzyniec, the cemetery’s damaged fence has been repaired thanks to the foundation’s efforts. Read the original articles here andhere.
Jewish Cemetery, Mass Grave Vandalised in Russia and Belarus
5 August 2009 – In the Russian city of Tver, vandals desecrated 60 gravestones in the Jewish section of the municipal cemetery. Suspects have been charged with perpetrating the desecrating acts. In the Belarusian city of Slutsk, swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti were painted on the memorial at a 1943 Holocaust mass grave. The memorial has been vandalised three times since it was erected in 2007. Read the original article.
