Social care for Jewish cemeteries – an outline of the issues in Masovia

Jewish cemeteries are a disappearing element of the cultural landscape. Due to the intense devastation carried out in the years 1939–1945 and the difficult post-war fate, just over 2,000 cemeteries have been preserved within the modern borders of Poland. Their state of preservation varies - from orderly and accessible to completely devoid of visible outlines in the field. Nowadays, numerous initiatives are undertaken to tidy up cemeteries, find and renovate matzeva and appropriately commemorate burial places and the deceased themselves. The chance to survive and, above all, to restore the memory of Jewish cemeteries are local communities involved in restoring the memory of their regions.