We are happy to announce that our team is in the Nitra and Zilina region of Slovakia to survey and map Jewish cemeteries. During our previous work in Slovakia, we surveyed 343 Jewish burial sites, which is just under half of all the cemeteries in the country.
Notable features of Jewish cemeteries in Slovakia are their small size and high density. This is largely because, during the Austro-Hungarian era between the 19th and early 20th centuries, most of the Jews in these regions organised in small rural communities, and were responsible for their own institutions, including cemeteries.
The data we collected revealed 35% of Jewish cemeteries remain unfenced and 6.5 % have been demolished but not overbuilt. In other words 42% of Jewish cemeteries in Slovakia require urgent protection.
However, before we can fence and protect the hundreds of sites that are at risk, we first need to survey the cemeteries with cutting edge drone technology. This is important as the surveys provide us with 3D images that allow our engineers to remotely plan the construction of fences with locking gates.
The mission to preserve the Jewish cemeteries of Slovakia remains vast. Slovakia has therefore been designated by the ESJF as a priority country for fencing projects in 2022 and 2023.
