Researchers are reconstructing a ravaged 19th century Jewish cemetery in the Czech city of Prostejov, once home to a vibrant Moravian Jewish community. The cemetery is believed to have been destroyed by the Nazi in 1943, reported the AP, and once contained 1,924 tombstones; many other Jewish graveyard suffered the same fate.
The renovation project, which began in July, is being spearheaded by New York philanthropist Louis Kestenbaum (whose father Rabbi Zvi Kestenbaum was active in lobbying for the creation of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad) and Tomas Jelinek, who is leading the search for “Prostejov’s lost graveyard.” Among the project’s earliest discoveries is of a Jewish tombstone that was repurposed and used as a hen house doormat in the small village of Žešov. A number of people also responded to an announcement in a local newspaper, with tips that have ultimately led to the unveiling of 150 tombstones and fragments. Reported the AP:
