20 Years as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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In the year 2000, UNESCO nominated Bardejov and the complex known as the Jewish Suburbia as a World Heritage Site, due to its cultural and historical significance. This year marks the 20
th
anniversary of that nomination.
The historic Jewish quarter—Jewish Suburbia (in Slovak, židovské suburbium)—an example of Bardejov’s historic Jewish communal life, was built in the early 19th century according to Talmudic guidelines and includes:
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Old Synagogue
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restored and opened to the public in July 2017, now it serves as the location for many cultural events
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Beith Hamidrash –
vacated in 2016, architects are working on plans for the restoration in preparation to apply for grants
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Mikvah –
served as a building supply store and is now closed, we hope that it will also be restored in the near future
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The Bardejov Holocaust Memorial –
adjacent to the Jewish Suburbia, was dedicated in an official ceremony in June 2014 and is open to the public.
Due to its tremendous historical, architectural, and urbanistic value, the Jewish Suburbia is destined to be utilized as a separate historic zone that honors and celebrates its Jewish heritage and history. The addition of the Bardejov Holocaust Memorial has only increased its value as a heritage site and has welcomed more visitors to learn about Bardejov's rich Jewish history.
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Map showing the area of UNESCO's World Heritage Site Declaration
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Don't forget to send us your photos and documents for inclusion in our new publication! We are slowly narrowing down our selections for the book and would love to receive any more submissions before making our final decisions.
If you have any photos or documents to provide, please reply to this email, or you may also call us at 626-773-8800.
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As customary, we plan to host our yearly commemoration event in Bardejov sometime this summer.
Dates and itinerary details will be sent as soon as we start planning and coordinating the event.
Although we don't have much information at the moment, if you are considering participating in this year's event please let us know.
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We would like to share that our founder, Mr. Emil A. Fish, has been working on another publication for quite some time. It is a memoir of his life and experiences from the time of his childhood in Bardejov to his accomplishments in present day.
This book will be full of valuable information, and Mr. Fish is looking forward to sharing it with you once completed.
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Plans for the restoration of the Beith Hamidrash building were displayed during our 2019 commemoration event.
We were not able to apply for the EEA Norwegian Grants for the restoration at this time, and currently we are looking for new options to proceed further.
We will keep you posted on the progress as soon as we have updates.
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The Pinkas Abrahamovic and Regina Edelmann Family
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Pinkas, his wife, and their children were born in Bardejov. Pinkas was a mason, engraving headstones with names and artwork. He also was a cantor. The family lived on Slovenská Street. On the day of son Adi’s Brith, there was a raid. Pinkas was taken first to Auschwitz and then to Mauthausen. Regina and the children went into hiding, moving from place to place until they joined the partisans and secured Aryan papers. After the war, in early spring 1945, they returned to Bardejov. Shortly after, Pinkas, who was released on May 29, 1945, reunited with
them. For a few months they lived on Stalinovo Square. They later moved to Košice and lived there for about three years. In 1949 the family immigrated to the United States and settled in New York City, where Pinkas worked as a mason and a cantor for 42 years. Lia married and has two sons and two grandsons. Adi, who died on November 15, 2011, also married and had three daughters and six grandchildren.
Photo: The Pinkas Abrahamovic Family, L -R Regina, Adi, Pinkas, and Lia
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You may read more about Bardejov's Jewish families in our Memorial Book of Jewish Bardejov
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Jack Garfein was a survivor of the Holocaust born July 2nd, 1930 in Bardejov. He was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust. Jack passed away on December 30th, 2019, due to complications from leukemia.
Mr. Garfein was known as a prolific actor, director, producer, author, and teacher. He moved to New York City in 1946 to pursue his craft.
He is survived by Blanche Baker and Herschel Garfein, his children with first wife, actor Caroll Baker; Rela Garfein and Elias Garfein, his children with second wife Anna Larreta; and his wife, Natalia Repolovsky.
We would like to express our deepest condolences to Jack's family and friends, he will be fondly remembered and greatly missed.
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We recently learned of the passing of Ibby Kleiner this past June. Ibby, formerly Bertha Rubin, was born in Bardejov on October 10th 1926. She was a survivor along with her mother and two siblings, her father Izak and brother Abraham both perished in the Holocaust.
Ibby was a very talented artist who painted portraits of Bardejov like the one seen here. Her work was done in oil pastels and she painted characters of her past life in shtetel and customs and costume of Eastern Hassidic tradition.
She is survived by her daughter Debbie.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Ibby's family and friends, may her memory be a blessing to all those she knew.
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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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TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT BJPC:
If you have any friends, or know of someone who may be interested in our organization, please invite them to fill out our
mailing list request form
so that they can receive updates and information from us.
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150 S. Los Robles Ave., Suite 480, Pasadena CA 91105; 626.773.8804;
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