Matzevot in Brest warehouse 2021
Article by Barbara Sloan
Jewish Tapestry Project, USA
The Together Plan will soon launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to bring the long-awaited Brest-Litovsk (aka Brisk) cemetery memorial to fruition.
Along with its USA partner, Jewish Tapestry Project, and Jewish partners in Belarus, the organization is inviting participants from all over the world to contribute to the memorial and adjoining park.
The crowdfunding campaign will go live in May through CharityExtra. Meanwhile, The Together Plan and Jewish Tapestry Project are looking for Jews whose families originated in or near Brest.
For eleven years, Debra Brunner, Artur Livshyts and a dedicated team of volunteers have worked to develop a plan to recognise this sacred burial site.
“We are bringing to light a very suppressed history of suffering of Soviet Jews, Jews whose descendants continue to suffer today,” said Brunner, co-founder and CEO of The Together Plan.
“This is much more than putting a memorial on a lost cemetery,” Brunner continued. “We are helping families learn their history. We are telling stories that were never heard before.” About 2.7 million Jews were murdered in the Soviet Union during WWII, being gassed in mobile vans or summarily shot. Antisemitism in the region dates back to multiple pogroms. The site, approved by the city of Brest, will memorialise the 30,000 Brest Jews murdered in World War II and also provide a location for prayer and meditation. Over 1200 headstones and remnants, removed during the war and used for building and paving, have been recovered, cleaned, cataloged and, where possible, reassembled and will be used in the memorial. (Click here for more information.)
Matzevot in Brest warehouse 2021
So far, the organizations have raised approximately one-third of the required funds. All donations are tax deductible in the UK and USA. Other countries may also allow tax deductions for charitable contributions.
For more information about the campaign: [email protected]
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For more information regarding media and publicity in the UK please contact [email protected]
To sign up to be a part of the crowdfunding campaign click here