Publications and reports

UAV technology to heritage tourism

Over the course of our EU-funded pilot project, we were able to gain significant insights into a number of fields, from UAV technology to sustainable heritage tourism. Working with experts, ESJF collated these insights into a set of instructional handbooks – the ESJF Guide series. We have also produced a standalone Prototype Handbook: Jewish Cemeteries and Sustainable Protection, co-written by Ruth Ellen Gruber. Put together with the generous support of the European Commission, these publications are open-access and free to download.
Jewish Cemeteries in the Classroom — an ESJF Guide

Written for Georgian educators, this manual provides a unique guide to exploring Jewish cemeteries in the classroom environment. With sections on Georgia Jewish heritage, guides to interpreting tombstones and leading cemetery expeditions, and practical exercises, it contains all the tools necessary to help students engage with their local Jewish heritage in a meaningful way.

Židovska groblja u učionici -vodič ESJF-a
Židovska groblja u učionici -vodič ESJF-a

Written for Croatian educators, this manual provides a unique guide to exploring Jewish cemeteries in the classroom environment. With sections on Croatia Jewish heritage, guides to interpreting tombstones and leading cemetery expeditions, and practical exercises, it contains all the tools necessary to help students engage with their local Jewish heritage in a meaningful way.

Catalogue of Best Practices for Jewish Cemetery Preservation

This catalogue, produced by ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, Centropa, and Foundation for Jewish Heritage with the support of the European Commission, provides an extensive guide to Jewish heritage preservation initiatives from across nine countries, from small-scale interventions by local residents to transnational partnerships. By examining these success stories, we can take valuable lessons, and begin to establish a framework for best practices for the long-term, sustainable protection of Jewish cemeteries across Europe.

Jewish Cemeteries in the Classroom — an ESJF Guide

Written for Hungarian educators, this manual provides a unique guide to exploring Jewish cemeteries in the classroom environment. With sections on Hungarian Jewish heritage, guides to interpreting tombstones and leading cemetery expeditions, and practical exercises, it contains all the tools necessary to help students engage with their local Jewish heritage in a meaningful way.

Guided Tours in the Jewish Cemetery

Tourism can play an important role in the long-term preservation of a heritage site, bringing with it attention, renewed interest in the site’s operation, and increased funding, but it also has its pitfalls, particularly with sites of religious significance, or those which evoke complex histories – and Jewish cemeteries are both. With sections on the different types of Jewish cemetery, the best features to draw attention to in your tour, and the rules and customs which must be observed, this manual provides you the template for organising an engaging, informative tour of the Jewish cemetery without violating religious rules or traditions.

Surveying and Modelling Jewish Heritage Sites

Jewish cemeteries need to be monitored and modelled extensively. As the field of digital heritage expands and evolves around the world, the technology used to track a site’s condition and plan protective measures has advanced along with it. This manual details the ways we apply UAV technology to the preservation of Jewish cemeteries. With sections on the advantages of various types of drone, the relative benefits of Photogrammetry and LiDAR, and the best UAV models used for preservation work today, it provides readers the tools for getting started in this rapidly evolving field.

Jewish Cemeteries and Sustainable Protection

Written by experts in the field of heritage preservation, this handbook addresses the social and economic challenges for sustainable heritage management, focusing on Jewish cemeteries specifically. It examines solutions and useful examples from a range of countries, hoping to offer insights to activists, NGO workers, municipal authorities and the general public.

Jewish Cemeteries in the Classroom

Written for teachers, this manual provides a unique guide to exploring Jewish cemeteries in the classroom. With sections on Jewish heritage, as well as guides to interpreting tombstones and leading cemetery expeditions, it contains all the tools necessary to help students engage with their local Jewish heritage in a meaningful way.

Reports
Final Report Pilot Project Protecting Jewish Cemeteries 2019-21

This report provides an overview of the implementation of the action ‘Pilot Project Protecting Jewish Cemeteries: Continuation of the mapping process, stakeholders’ involvement and awareness-raising’. The report provides information about following key components: research, survey work, education activities, stakeholder engagement, publications (database and written deliverables) and outreach. The project took place in seven project countries, three of which ESJF had already conducted surveys in in the previous pilot project (Ukraine, Lithuania, and Slovakia), and four additional countries that extended the geographic scope within and beyond the EU (Croatia, Hungary, Poland, and Georgia). The project was carried out as a consortium between three nonprofit organisations: the ESJF, Centropa, and the Foundation for Jewish Heritage (FJH).

Country Report: Lithuania

This report summarises the implementation of the pilot project ‘Pilot Project: Protecting Jewish Cemeteries: A full mapping process with research and monitoring and individual costed proposals for protection’ in Lithuania and offers a detailed analysis of its results. The pilot project ran for 18 months, between December 11th, 2018 and June 10th, 2020, co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative. In Lithuania, the ESJF aimed to survey and catalogue ca. 100 Jewish cemeteries in the country, raising awareness about their value and vulnerability among local stakeholders, and conducting educational events for local high school students and their teachers.

Country Report: Moldova

This report summarises the implementation of the pilot project ‘Pilot Project Protecting Jewish Cemeteries: A full mapping process with research and monitoring and individual costed proposals for protection’ in Moldova and offers a detailed analysis of its results. The pilot project ran for 18 months, between 11 December 2018 and 10 June 2020, co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, with the aim of mapping, surveying every Jewish cemetery in the country, raising awareness about their value and vulnerability among local stakeholders, and conducting educational events for local high school students and their teachers.

Country Report: Slovakia

This report summarises the implementation of the pilot project ‘Pilot Project: Protecting Jewish Cemeteries: A full mapping process with research and monitoring and individual costed proposals for protection’ in Slovakia and offers a detailed analysis of its results. The pilot project ran for 18 months, between December 11th, 2018 and June 10th, 2020, co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative. In Slovakia, the surveys aimed to locate, map, and survey ca. 350 Jewish cemeteries in the country, raising awareness about their value and vulnerability among local stakeholders, and conducting educational events for local high school students and their teachers.

Country Report: Ukraine

This report summarises the implementation of the pilot project ‘Pilot Project Protecting Jewish Cemeteries: A full mapping process with research and monitoring and individual costed proposals for protection’ in Ukraine and offers a detailed analysis of its results. The pilot project ran for 18 months, between 11 December 2018 and 10 June 2020, co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, with the aim of mapping and surveying ca. 1000 Jewish cemeteries in the country, raising awareness about their value and vulnerability among local stakeholders, and conducting educational events for local high school students and their teachers.

Country Report: Greece

This report summarises the implementation of the pilot project ‘Pilot Project Protecting Jewish Cemeteries: A full mapping process with research and monitoring and individual costed proposals for protection’ in Greece and offers a detailed analysis of its results. The pilot project ran for 18 months, between 11 December 2018 and 10 June 2020, co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, with the aim of mapping and surveying every Jewish cemetery in Greece, raising awareness about their value and vulnerability among local stakeholders, and conducting educational events for local high school students and their teachers.