Documenting the Jewish Cemetery of Radautz Bukovina
Documenting Jewish cemeteries worldwide is an urgent and important task. As time passes, many cemeteries suffer from natural deterioration due to neglect. Several of these cemeteries are subject to man-made destruction too. Documenting these important Jewish heritage sites, as well as making that information freely available to the public, enhances our knowledge of Jewish history, preserves material evidence of it, and advances Jewish genealogy.
This specific effort focuses on the Jewish cemetery of Radautz Bukovina (Radauti), in the northern part of modern-day Romania. This is where my father's family lived since the dawn of the 19th century. The cemetery was established in 1831 and is still active today, serving the very small Jewish population of today's Radautz.
The first phase of the project began back in 2005 when a group of volunteers, using their private resources, repaired the cemetery fences, cleared the vegetation in most burial lots, and photographed about 60% of the headstones. Later, the texts on the photographed headstones were deciphered by me, and set into a database of burials, which in turn was made available to the public via JewishGen’s JOWBR website. These records included a representing image for each headstone handled. A detailed description of all work done up to the present is available at http://data.jewishgen.org/imagedata/jowbr/ROM-01899/ROM-01899-CemeteryDescription_replaceNov-2021.pdf.
As an amateur genealogist, pensioner, having deep family roots in Radautz, I’ve decided to initiate and run the final phase of documenting the Jewish cemetery – for the benefit of the public.
The most important action to be taken now is photographing the approximately 2,000 headstones that were not documented in the first phase, most of them dated to the earliest days of the cemetery - the 19th century. This must be done during autumn season of 2024, due to weather and vegetation growth considerations. Each headstone will be photographed from several angles, to enhance readability of deteriorated stones. Photography will be handled by a paid photographer living in Radautz, who owns proper equipment and has proven photography skills. These Images will be deciphered by me, as was done in the first phase, and the information will be updated in the database created following the first phase of the project.
The updated database, as well as a representative image per each headstone will be uploaded to JewishGen JOWBR website upon completion of the project. This ensures full and free information accessibility to all, supported by JOWBR’s sophisticated search engines. Sharing this information with other websites will be considered too, pending full and free availability to the public.
Financing this second phase of documentation requires a budget of 6,000€, as follows:
· Photographing about 2,000 headstones
· An average of 4 images per headstone
o Frontal general view of headstone
o Zoom on text. 2 or 3 such images are required in case of Obelisk-type headstones.
o Severely deteriorated or partially hidden headstones will require additional angled zoom images, to enhance readability.
o Backside of headstone – in case it holds text
o Total of about 8,000 images
· Payment of 0.65€ per image to the local photographer (including helper fee) 8,000x0.65=5,200€
· 800€ are needed as project reserve for unexpected expenses 5,200 + 800 = 6,000€
The requirement for quantity and types of images is based on the experience gained in the first phase of the project.
Donations will be forwarded to me, and I’ll pay the photographer according to work progress. The remaining budget, if any, will be used for Jewish heritage preservation activities related to Bukovina in general, and Radautz in particular.
I am appealing to you, descendants of the Jews of Bukovina in general, Radautz in particular, genealogy fans and non-fans, those who have already enjoyed from the fruits of the first phase of the project, and those who hope to gain knowledge and insights from second phase, and all those who care about vanished Jewish communities worldwide. Please support this project. In addition, please forward this proposal to anyone that might be interested in supporting these initiatives.
Full disclosure: The headstone illustrating this appeal is of my paternal grandfather's grandmother Temme Jurgrau, who passed away on August 12th 1917 (28 Menachem-Av 5677), at about the age of 90, and was buried the day after in the Radautz cemetery. The headstone was found during project’s first phase. I personally hope that the proposed second phase will reveal the headstone of her husband Yakov-Yosef Jurgrau, who passed away on April 14th 1874 at the age of 46, and was buried in the same cemetery.
Yossi Yagur (Jurgrau)
September 2024
