The mayor and active citizens of the region of Kaišiadorys (Koshedar) are calling for more people to volunteer their time and labor to clean up the old Jewish cemetery in Žiežmariai (Zhezhmer) on Friday, August 21. Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky invites members of the community and especially youth to take part in the effort. Tools will be provided.

Work begins at 10 A.M. and those who want to go should contact the Lithuanian Jewish Community by 5 P.M. on Thursday, August 20.

for more information, see: Facebook Event 

According to the Lithuanian newspaper and website Lietuvos žinios [News of Lithuania], the town of Žiežmariai is first mentioned in the historical sources in the 14th century and received charter rights as a city in 1792. Besides the Old Jewish Cemetery, the town has other attractions such as buildings surviving from the 16th century, a monumental neo-Gothic church and a unique wooden synagogue from the 19th century. The Old Jewish Cemetery contains hundreds of burials witnessing to the bustling Jewish life there until World War II, when almost all remaining Jews of Žiežmariai were murdered.

Lietuvos žinios reports the cemetery has been abandoned to the ravages of time and is full of weeds, blocking from view many of the headstones and making them inaccessible. The organizers reportedly said the clean-up action is intended to show that it is the duty of Lithuanian society to safeguard the heritage and historical monuments of the Jews as well as every other ethnic group living in Lithuania. Lietuvos žinios reports the volunteer action will take place at the time indicated above at the Old Jewish Cemetery located at Šermukšnių street No. 21 in Žiežmariai, and that there is a sign indicating the way from Žaslių street.

For the full article in Lithuanian, see: Lietuvos žinios