jewish cemeteries, synagogues, and mass grave sites in ukraine

Elsewhere, agreement is harder to reach. In Berdychiv (Zhytomyrska oblast), which was a
center of Jewish culture until the ravages of World War II, the large cemetery has more than
5,000 tombstones, some dating from the 18 th century. The cemetery, one of the most important
in Ukraine, is in a sad state of repair. First, it is so heavily overgrown with trees and shrubs that
most of the site is impenetrable. Another even more serious problem, however, is the
encroachment by private development on the edge of the cemetery, where private garages have
been constructed.
The cemetery is bounded on the west by a major highway that leads north from the city, on the
north by another road, and on the south by a railroad right of way. The garages have primarily
been built on the eastern side of the cemetery. Although the work on the garages has, ostensibly,
been frozen by the government, more work still goes on according to local sources. The local
rabbi claims that bones are still being unearthed. In response to this situation, the Commission
has raised private funds to allow some cleaning of the cemetery, but, perhaps more importantly,
to support legal research to establish the true boundaries of the site.
To be preserved, the cemetery needs to be demarcated and fenced. Construction material and
unfinished garages should be removed. Then, over time, the functioning garages could be
relocated one-by-one and the cemetery returned to an appropriate state.
An even more stubborn problem exists in Lviv, where a market now exists on the site of a
cemetery which dates to the 15 th century. After the removal of the thousands of gravestones
during the Second World War, Soviet authorities expropriated the cemetery in 1947, and the site
became used as a marketplace. During construction of the permanent structures for the
expanding marketplace in 1996, graves were disturbed and bones unearthed. Despite an
agreement to freeze the construction in October 1996, the market was completed (figures 14-17).
The Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, as well as, other Jewish groups
from around the world have been involved in an ongoing campaign to return the property to the
Jewish community. The Commission has also pressed for a solution.
Proposals to move the market to another site have been recognized by local authorities as valid,
but no action has been taken, and the market continues to expand. In this case, legal recognition
of the cemetery is not enough.
A United States proposal to contribute substantial funding (through the Agency for International
Development, working in conjunction with the Commission) to move the market has not
accomplished the goal. Other towns, too, use Jewish cemeteries as sites for markets. These
markets, however, such as the one held on the cemetery at Zhovkva (Lvivska oblast), tend not to
be daily affairs, nor do they include many permanent structures.
The Jewish cemetery in Storozhynets (Chernivetska oblast) represents one of the few good
examples of modern cemetery reorganization and rebuilding with construction of a monument
and a fence around the common graves. The work was carried out using funds from an
individual who was born in the town.
Elsewhere, there has been care given to cemeteries. For example, in 1995, the municipality of
Kalush (Ivano-Frankivska oblast) helped re-erect stones and fixed the wall and gate of the town’s
Jewish cemetery, which is now surrounded by apartment buildings. The work was done in
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