(Jewish Group) Memorial from broken headstones to mark desecrated Jewish cemetery in Belarus

When a large Jewish cemetery was paved over last century to create a sports ground in Belarus, the headstones were used to make roads and buildings.

Decades later, the desecrated stone slabs began to emerge during renovation works. Now, thanks to the hard work of a charity based in Belarus and the United Kingdom, the headstones will be given the respect they deserve as part of a new memorial on the site.

The haunting structure will be erected at the site of the former cemetery in Brest, crafted from broken bits of headstones that have resurfaced over the past two decades in the city and the surrounding area.

Brest, also known as Brest-Litovsk, had been a hub of Jewish life before World War II, with Jewish residents first recorded there in the 14th century. It was home to more than 20,000 Jews before the war. After the Holocaust, only about 10 remained, according to Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial center.


Debra Brunner of The Together Plan stands in a warehouse in Brest, surrounded by the broken headstones. - The Together Plan
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