BJPC Monthly Newsletter: June/July Issue

The latest news from the BJPC is here!

2017 Memorial Ceremony in Bardejov

Our annual Memorial Ceremony in Bardejov took place on Wednesday, June 28th, 2017. The event was held inside the Bardejov Holocaust Memorial to mark the 75th anniversary of the mass deportation of Jews from Bardejov in 1942. The event was attended by local citizens, city officials, and representatives from the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Slovakia (UZZNO) and H.E. Zvi Aviner Vapni, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Slovak Republic.

The ceremony included significant local participation: musical performances throughout from children of the Music and Theater School of Bardejov including a children’s choir that sang the Hebrew song Yaldut Nishkachat (a Forgotten Childhood) and a local Christian group singing the Hebrew song “Heiveinu Shalom Alecheim”.

Other groups of students from the local high school participated in a reading as well as in the beautiful candle lighting ceremony. The winners of this year’s essay competition were also announced; their essays will be available to read on our website once they are translated.

The ceremony concluded with the signing of the contract between Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee and the Federation of Jewish Communities in Slovakia (UZZNO). The restoration of the Beith Hamidrash is expected to begin sometime in early 2018.

After the Memorial ceremony, a second ceremony by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Slovakia (UZZNO) was held inside the synagogue to mark the conclusion of its restoration. Many of the attendees of the first ceremony relocated to the synagogue to hear speeches by UZZNO representatives, city and government officials, Zvi Aviner Vapni, Israeli Ambassador to Slovakia, and Mr. Giora Solar representing the BJPC.

Click the photos below to enlarge them. For more photos of the event please click here to view our Facebook gallery.

Close to 150 people attended the event

Signing of the contract to restore the Beith Hamidrash

Children of the Music and Theater School of Bardejov

Winners of this year’s essay competition

H.E. Adam Sterling visits Bardejov

H.E. Adam Sterling, U.S. Ambassador in Slovakia, visited Bardejov in mid June as part of a tour to Eastern Slovakia.

Lucia Guthova, Director of Bardejov Tourist Information Office, guided the group through Bardejov’s medieval city core and continued to the Jewish suburbia. Recognizing that this year marks the 75th anniversary of mass deportations of Jewish people from Slovakia, the ambassador paid his respect to the victims of the Holocaust inside the Bardejov Holocaust Memorial. He deeply appreciated receiving the Memorial Book of Jewish Bardejov by Pavol and Peter Hudak, and recognized the BJPC’s effort towards keeping the memories and sites of Jewish culture alive through educational and commemorative activities. The ambassador also visited the Old Synagogue and explored the interior of the Beith HaMidrash building which awaits future restoration.

Below is a link to a TV report about the ambassador’s visit, as well as a link to the ambassador’s Facebook page which details his experiences during the trip.

(Click the buttons below to access the links)

BTV News Report

Ambassador's FB Post

Heritage Conference in Krakow

The Heritage Forum of Central Europe is a cyclical, biennial event organized by the International Cultural Centre in Krakow. It is an interdisciplinary platform for meetings and the discussion of the relations between the past and the present informed by the broad understanding of heritage as “meaningful pasts that should be remembered” (Sharon Macdonald).

The fourth conference was held on 1-2 June 2017 and discussed the reciprocity between heritage and society, as well as their mutual engagement. Our Executive Director Orit Stieglitz was in Krakow discussing the revival of Jewish heritage in Bardejov and the effects on the local community.

BJPC Executive Director Orit Stieglitz speaks at the conference

The conference discussed the reciprocity between heritage and society, as well as their mutual engagement.

Please Support Us

Our mission is to preserve Bardejov’s Jewish Heritage, memorialize and honor Bardejov Holocaust victims, and conduct educational outreach to school and community groups to teach tolerance and diversity. The Bardejov Jewish Preservation Committee is not funded by any grants and depends solely on the support of generous individuals.

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150 S. Los Robles Ave., Suite 480, Pasadena CA 91105; 626.773.8804; from Israel: 03.763.5525;

Web: www.bardejov.org