The CER has been working in conjunction with Frank Schwartz
of the East European Heritage Project concerning the
preservation of cemeteries in Belarus.
The Jews of Svir were murdered during the Second World War by
Germans and their Lithuanian accomplices, but the current
inhabitants, in common with many Belarusians, were intent on
preserving the artifacts of their nation's Jewish heritage.
On their own, they undertook the conservation of the
cemetery, but their resources alone were not sufficient to
provide the fence and gate needed to protect it.
The citizens of Svir approached the East European Jewish
Heritage Project for assistance. They in turn contacted Dr.
Michael Lozman of the Restoration of Eastern European Jewish
Cemeteries Project Inc. in Albany, NY for assistance. Michael
has restored four Jewish cemeteries in Belarus (Soptoskin,
Indura, Kamenka and now Svir) and is currently planning the
restoration of three more.
Dr. Lozman visited Svir in February 2004 to view the cemetery
and assess the task of restoration. After his visit, the
EEJH, in full consultation with Rabbi Aba Dunner, Executive
Director of the CER, followed up with meetings with local
town authorities and with National Committee for Religions
and Nationalities. All parties were eager to help, and the
local school in Svir offered the assistance of its
students.
Back in the United States, Michael enlisted the aid of Gary
Coleman, Director Binghampton University's chapter of Hillel.
Together, they found donors to support the project. In June
2004, the students arrived and in four days, with the help of
citizens of Svir, the cemetery was turned from a desolate
lakeside field into a restored Jewish cemetery.
