Unveiling a Heartwarming Tribute: Commemorating the Desecrated Jewish Cemetery in Belarus

The headstones from a Jewish cemetery in Belarus, which were used as materials for roads and buildings in the past century, are now being reclaimed and honored through the efforts of a charity from Belarus and the United Kingdom. As part of a new memorial, these desecrated stone slabs will finally receive the respect they deserve.

The eerie structure will be built on the grounds of the former cemetery in Brest. It will be constructed using fragments of headstones that have reappeared in the city and its vicinity over the past two decades.

Once known as Brest-Litovsk, Brest was a vibrant center of Jewish culture prior to World War II, with Jewish inhabitants documented as early as the 14th century. The city was home to over 20,000 Jews before the war, but tragically, only around 10 survived the Holocaust, as reported by Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial center.

Tens of thousands of individuals are thought to have been laid to rest in this cemetery, including renowned rabbis and talmudic scholars. However, scant evidence remains of their actual graves.

Debra Brunner of The Together Plan stands in a warehouse in Brest, surrounded by the broken headstones.

The Together Plan

The desecration of the cemetery started during the war when the Nazis sold off the headstones. This destruction continued under the Soviets in the post-war era when they used the religious markers for paving and building. Later, the entire site was covered in asphalt to create a running track and football stadium, as reported by representatives of the Jewish community in Belarus today. The sports facilities still exist on the site, albeit in a deteriorated state, and are accessible to the public.

All evidence of the once-extensive cemetery remained hidden until the late 1990s when fragments of the broken stones began to resurface during construction in and around the city.

Debra Brunner, CEO and co-founder of The Together Plan, a charity leading the memorial project, mentioned that there are currently no indications of it being a cemetery.

In recent years, a significant number of matzevot, or headstones, have been gathered and stored in a warehouse. These headstones have been meticulously photographed, categorized, and included in an extensive database that can be easily searched. They will soon be incorporated into a substantial memorial located at the site.

Artur Livshyts and The Together Plan team work to photograph and catalog the salvaged headstones in 2021.

According to Artur Livshyts, co-director of The Together Plan, there are 1,287 pieces that show signs of writing, and an estimated additional 2,000 to 2,500 pieces without any signs of writing. The Together Plan collaborates with the US organization called The Jewish Tapestry Project.

In the early part of this year, Livshyts, a member of the Jewish community residing in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, received a message from a young couple who had recently purchased a run-down property in Brest. The house had remained abandoned for over two decades.

Brunner explained, "Despite its extremely poor state, the couple acquired the house with the intention of refurbishing it. While carrying out their renovation work, they unexpectedly came across a surprising discovery – the basement of the house had been constructed using matzevot. It was revealed that, after the war, the previous occupants of the house had repurposed the matzevot as building materials."

Following a string of unfortunate events, it was widely speculated that the family had fallen victim to a so-called "curse from the headstones," according to Brunner.

Motivated by a strong sense of moral obligation, the newlywed couple decided to seek guidance from the Jewish community in Brest, in order to handle the situation appropriately.

Artur Livshyts (center) helps to load some of the headstones collected from a house in Brest earlier this year.

Debra Brunner, along with Livshyts, envisions a memorial to be in place before the end of 2024. The objective of this memorial, as stated by the charity, is to recognize and pay tribute to the community that was tragically annihilated, while also enlightening visitors about the thriving Jewish community of present-day Brest.

The memorial will be situated on one corner of the site, away from the sports facilities. It will consist of a black granite plaque displaying text in English, Russian, and Hebrew. The surrounding area will be beautifully landscaped with trees, grass, and wild flowers. The Brest municipality fully supports this concept and has committed to maintaining the memorial once it is open, as reported by The Together Plan.

As of now, CNN has not received a response from the office of the mayor of Brest regarding their request for comment on the project. Belarus, led by President Alexander Lukashenko, has faced international pressure due to its involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine and its suppression of civil society.

The charity anticipates that they need to raise approximately $300,000 for the memorial, with a third of the funds already promised by a donor closely linked to Brest's Jewish history. Stephen Grynberg, an LA-based filmmaker, shared with CNN that his late father Jack was among the few Jewish survivors of the Holocaust in Brest, revealing that the Nazis killed numerous relatives of his.

The cemetery was covered with tarmac and transformed into a sports stadium and running track, which remains in use today.

Interim Chair of the Jewish Religious Union in Belarus

During the 1990s, Grynberg served as an interviewer for the Shoah Foundation, an initiative established by renowned Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg to document the accounts of Holocaust survivors. Motivated by the foundation's efforts, he encouraged his father to share his wartime memories and accompanied him on a journey back to Brest.

Grynberg, 60, expressed to CNN the profound impact that trip had on him. He discovered that his town had lost 70 to 100 family members, including grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Apart from his immediate family, everyone else had been brutally murdered.

He further explained that during his visit in 1997, there were no visible signs of the cemetery. Their guide pointed out the location, emphasizing the fact that it had been bulldozed and built upon. Grynberg struggled to comprehend this disturbing reality, as it left him with an indescribable hollow feeling.

In 2015, Grynberg came back to Brest and became aware of the headstones resurfacing during construction work. He then met with Brunner and Livshyts who shared their vision for a memorial at the former cemetery site. Impressed by their ideas, Grynberg decided to enlist the help of Brad Goldberg, a designer from Texas. Interestingly, Goldberg's family had provided support to Grynberg's father when he initially came to the United States, and they were quite familiar with each other. Grynberg entrusted Goldberg with the task of developing a plan for the memorial.

Stephen Grynberg is pictured with his late father, Jack.

Stephen Grynberg expressed uncertainty about having any relatives in this cemetery, as his family had migrated to Brest. He explained that his grandparents had relocated to Brest, indicating that his ancestors were likely buried in other parts of Belarus. Grynberg noted that the individuals laid to rest in this cemetery were all pre-war inhabitants of the town and emphasized the significance of his personal connection to the place.

The purpose, he explained, is not to recreate a cemetery, but to restore "respect to the individuals interred at this location."

In a conversation with CNN over the phone, Goldberg described his design as consisting of two expansive arcs that enclose a significant area on the premises. The space will incorporate a selection of the damaged tombstones.

"I refer to it as an embrace," he stated, implying that this embrace serves as a haven for the preserved headstones.

"It does not exactly resemble a conventional cemetery," he elaborated. "Each headstone is positioned in varying angles, as if engaged in an animated discourse amongst themselves."

"One consulted rabbi described it as focusing on life rather than death," explained Livshyts to CNN. "This initiative aims to bring closure by giving the stones their rightful resting place. It's a step towards achieving historical justice."

He added: "Of course we cant locate the actual bodies to the stones that are there but at least we can bring back the stones and have them standing where the cemetery used to be."