Cemetery Restoration / Preservation

Following its establishment, the BJHS’ first activity was the construction of a wall to enclose the historic Jewish cemetery in Bolechow. BJHS contracted with the Heritage Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries to build steel reinforced poured concrete wall of nearly 600 meters long, with 60% of the construction costs coming from BJHS and the remainder from another group. The wall encompasses the historical boundaries of the cemetery, thereby avoiding encroachment from surrounding properties and discouraging use of the cemetery property for other uses (such as soccer playing or animal grazing).

Having accomplished the wall construction, the longer term goals for the cemetery include maintaining the site for the future, cataloguing the remaining (approximately) 2000 headstones so that the descendants of those buried there can know of their ancestors’’ final resting places, restoring as many headstones as possible to as good condition as possible (both in terms of legibility and as upright monuments they once were). The cemetery’s unique headstone artwork and the large numbers of surviving headstones suggest the possibility of international recognition of the cemetery, whether as a UNESCO cultural heritage site or in some other way.

• Guide to Reading Hebrew Tombstones (pdf)

• Memorial Book Used at Bolechow Cemetery and Taniava Forest Ceremonies (pdf)

Cemetery Photo Descriptions

This file is the beginning of our survey of the Historic Bolechow Cemetery. The notations in this file identify approximately 150 tombstones in the center section of the cemetery. Due to the complicated nature of this project, and the fading of the stones over time, the close to 300 photos taken during the August 2009 trip will be posted over time. We welcome assistance in the deciphering of the tombstones as we move forward with this project.

• Download Cemetery Photo Descriptions (Microsoft Excel)

Help Take Notes at Bolechow Cemetery

When visiting Bolechow Cemetery, we ask that you use this form to match your photos with any descriptive elements that you can submit.

• Download Notetaker form (pdf)

Bolechow Cemetery Tombstones

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bolechow/albums/72157624350525355