Surveys are currently ongoing across the country, led by ESJF Senior Surveyor Ian Galevskii and our country coordinator, Ladislav Trajer (Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia). Where permitted, drones are being used to conduct the surveys.
Among the cemeteries we’ve already documented is the unique Sephardic cemetery in Šabac.
According to Ladislav Trajer, one of the greatest threats to Jewish cemeteries in Serbia is their close proximity to Christian cemeteries, often without any clear separation. In the past, there have been instances where Christian cemeteries expanded into Jewish burial grounds. As a result, in many locations, Christian graves were placed directly on top of Jewish ones.
Serbia is home to more than 150 Jewish cemeteries. The ESJF plans to survey all of them, including several dozen that have never previously appeared on any lists. Once the surveys are complete, we aim to present the most comprehensive inventory of Jewish cemeteries in Serbia to date.
We thank the Auswärtiges Amt (German Federal Foreign Office) for their continued support of this vital work.