Ukraine: Lest We Forget Lviv’s Krakovsky Jewish Cemetery – Now a Bustling Marketplace

Ukraine: Lest We Forget Lviv’s Krakovsky Jewish Cemetery – Now a Bustling Marketplace
by Samuel D. Gruber

Visitors to L’viv (formerly Lvov, Lemberg) for the Urban Jewish Heritage and History in East Central Europe, Lviv (Ukraine), October 29-31, 2008, will have a hard time finding the old Jewish Cemetery of that legendary city of Jewish life and culture. That’s because the famous Krakovsky Cemetery (probably founded no later than the 15th century) has been hidden under an expanding marketplace (known as the Krakivsky Market) since early 1990s (I took these photos in 2006).

The cemetery was devastated during the German occupation of then-Polish Lvov during the Second World War when the Jewish population of the city was killed, and the thousands of gravestones of the cemetery were removed, presumably for building and paving materials. After the war, when Lvov (now Ukrainian L’viv) became part of Soviet Ukraine, the cemetery area was used as an open marketplace. After the fall of Communism and independence of Ukraine in 1991, free-market and black-market commercialism increased on the cemetery site. Very quickly what had been an open space for casual display of fruits, vegetables, and flea market items became a bustling market area of movable stalls, booths and semi-permanent structures.

The small Jewish community of L’viv protested, and asked for the cemetery to be returned to the community, and respected as a burial ground. In 1995 the city cited costs for moving the market at between $1 million and $2 million US dollars. Continued negotiations led to the recognition of the historic character of the site, and the signing of a protocol in 1996 stating the intent that the market should be moved and the cemetery restored in some way, to reflect its religious and historic significance. Several important political figures in the US and Ukraine (including now-New York Senator Charles Schumer) weighed in on the issue, calling for the restoration of the cemetery.

In 1997 US AID prepared a detailed review of the situation, reporting local estimates for the cost of removal of the market to another location, creation of the new market, and some form of restoration of the cemetery at between $4 and 12 million. Part of this was economic realism, but part was probably an attempt at political extortion. The municipality could say they wanted to do the right thing, but could not afford it.

In any case, no agency – private or public - was willing to put up that kind of money. And after a few years without moving, the market began to expand. What was once temporary has taken on a more and more permanent appearance. Part of that has been due to the erection of more and more market buildings, many of which have required some disturbance of the below-ground burials to allow their construction.

Now, a number of circumstances have people looking at the situation again. Some successfully negotiated projects removing structures from cemeteries in Poland have encouraged cemetery preservation groups. Renewed disputes about built-over cemeteries in Thessaloniki (Greece) and Vilnius (Lithuania) have brought the situation in L’viv back in mind to diplomats still pressing for property restitution laws and settlements (there is a big conference on this in Prague in June 2009). There is talk of a new international committee being formed to press to the issue, which some rabbinic leaders and governmental officials have been studying.

For now, the bustling market is more successful than ever, and more an essential, and seemingly traditional, part of L’viv’s urban life. There are absolutely no indications anyway - signs, symbols, memorial – about the history of this site and guide books and on-line tourist sites rarely mention anything more than the colorful produce and handcrafts for sale.

Readers who have information or questions about the cemetery are encouraged to contact ISJM.

Conference: Urban Jewish Heritage and History in East Central Europe, Lviv (Ukraine), October 29-31, 2008

Conference: Urban Jewish Heritage and History in East Central Europe, Lviv (Ukraine), October 29-31, 2008

In October 2008, the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe will hold an international conference dedicated to Urban Jewish Heritage and History in East Central Europe. The conference will coincide with the opening in Lviv of the exhibit Wo ist Lemberg? that originated in Berlin.

The conference is the first such gathering in Lviv and one of the first in Ukraine, and will address the physical and cultural legacies of the Jewish civilization destroyed by the Holocaust have long been neglected in Eastern and Central Europe. One goal of the conference is to bring the experiences of other Jewish heritage centers to Ukraine, where planning, preservation and education have lagged since 1989.

According to the organizers, “With the end of the Soviet Union and the fundamental liberalization of politics and society, which accompanied it, however, the region's Jewish heritage, too, has entered processes of rediscovery and reconstruction. With respect to urban space, the regeneration or revitalization of historic Jewish quarters has become one main focus of attention, where several complex and challenging fields of theory and practice overlap: The relationship between the past, memory, and history; questions of reality, authenticity, and virtuality; urban-planning and economic aspects of regeneration. The Center seeks to bring together an interdisciplinary as well as international group of scholars and practitioners to discuss these issues in Lviv, which used to be a main center of Jewish urban life in East Central Europe but which is also still marked by oblivion and neglect of this past.”

My sister, Ruth Ellen Gruber, author of Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in Europe (2001) and Jewish Heritage Travel, 4^th edition (2007) will keynote the conference.

I will be speaking on “Jewish Heritage in Lviv in the Context of International Experience.” I'm using the months leading up to the conference to reacquaint myself with the most pressing Jewish heritage issues in Lviv (former Jewish cemetery, now the Krakowski Market; the TaZ synagogue and adjacent areas; Judaica collections in musuems and aechives; the Tzori-Gilad Synagogue; and the Janowska Road Concetration/Death Camp). Most important is to look to see how to knit these sites together to create a meaningful hertiage landscape for local people and visitors alike. Changing hearts, minds and pocketbooks in Ukraine is not easy - but there have been enough small successes to make us hope for bigger changes in the future.

Other anticipated speakers at the conference include Eleonora Bergman (Warsaw), Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (New York University), Sabine Offe, Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek (Vienna Jewish Museum), Cilly Kugelmann (Berlin Jewish Museum), Vasyl Rasevych, Shelley Salamensky, Michał Szulc, Sofiya Grachova, Sergey Kravtsov, Rudolf Klein, Thomas Hubka, and Bob Martens.

For details and updates check at: http://www.lvivcenter.org/en/conferences/callforpapers/

Ukraine: New Developments in Jewish Quarter in L'viv

Ukraine: New Developments in Jewish Quarter in L'viv
by Samuel D. Gruber

(ISJM) It is period of uncertainty for the future of the Jewish quarter of L'viv, Ukraine, as properties in and around the historic district become available for new development, including lots adjacent to the site of the 16th century Golden Rose Synagogue. So, last week in L'viv, protagonists involved in the planning and development of the future of the city's historic Jewish neighborhood (part of the larger historic center which is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site) gathered together for a "roundtable" discussion sponsored by .The Center for Urban History of East Central Europe (see: http://www.lvivcenter.org/). Part of the regular Kolo Lvova series, last month's topic was "Around Staroevreiska Street: At the Heart of Lviv's Jewish Heritage," and drew about 20 people, most of whom are in some way stakeholders in the future of the area. This discussion was seen as an important step forward for a area with a contested history, and where there has been a lack of clear process in planning efforts.

Later this fall (October 29-31) The Center for Urban History will also host an exhibition about historic Jewish L'viv (also known as Polish Lvov and Austrian Lemberg) and an international conference "Urban Jewish Heritage and History in East Central Europe."

Participants in last week's discussion included a representative of the city administration; Jewish activist Meylakh Shekhet, who heads the "Yevreiske Vidrodzhennia" (Jewish Revival & Rekindling the Jewish Flame), a Jewish cultural organization housed in premises adjacent to the historic Golden Rose (or TaZ) Synagogue; and Yuri Lukomski, the local archaeologist now at work excavating lots in the area. There were also several writers, artists, and museum experts present.

Importantly, the meeting also drew the local developer who recently purchased a property north of the former synagogue with the intent of constructing a hotel. That project and its impact on the
archaeological record and on the overall appearance of the neighborhood has been the cause of great concern. It is hoped that public interest – locally and internationally – in the fate of the
district will convince the developer to cooperate with local historians, archaeologists and preservationists to create a project appropriate for the location.

The Center for Urban History provides a "neutral" space in L'viv where complex and often conflicting attitudes towards the city and its history can be explored. While there was no specific goal for the discussion, and no specific results came of it, the organizers and participants believe it is an important stage in developing a consistent and open process. . Tarik Amar, Academic Director of the Center, reports that there are plans to form a group of those interested in Jewish heritage to continue these discussions.

I will be reporting more about Jewish L'viv in upcoming posts.