Memory mapping project in Ukraine uses painstaking research by local historian
UK-based researchers are creating a digital 'memory' of a town in western Ukraine once home to a thriving Jewish community
Researchers in Manchester and London are using new technology to build a detailed picture of Jewish history in Ukraine.
Dr Rachel Lichtenstein from Manchester Metropolitan University and Duncan Hay, a digital developer at University College London, are working on ‘memory mapping’ projects.
They are building on the work of Tetiana Fedoriv, a Ukrainian historian who learnt Hebrew to decipher gravestone epitaphs in her local Jewish cemetery in the west Ukrainian town of Zbarazh and created an archive of the stories of the Jews buried there.
Led by the Foundation for Jewish Heritage (headed by Michael Mail), the ‘Deep Dive’ Ukraine programme now aims to to create ‘the broadest possible educational work on Jewish cemeteries in Europe’ with project partners Centropa and the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF).
“The idea is to use this platform to geolocate Tetiana’s research,” said Lichtenstein, adding that the project “will be completed in June 2023”.
The work began with two pilot projects between 2018 and 2021, mapping 1,700 cemeteries in central and eastern Europe, creating public outreach programmes and seminars on the life and contributions of former Jewish communities in these places. This led to publications and handbooks, exploring ‘best practices’ of cemetery preservation and sustainable heritage tourism, as well as guides on how to use Jewish cemeteries in the classroom.
As well as Zbarazh in Ukraine, there will be parallel efforts in places such as Budapest in Hungary, Krakow in Poland, Chisinau in Moldova, and Vilnius in Lithuania.
For more information see: https://jewishmanchestermemorymap.org/ and: https://www.jewishcemeteries.eu/deep-dives/
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