Dozens of high-school students in the West German town of Moenchengladbach have been working like beavers for weeks, cleaning, repairing and restoring the old Jewish cemetery on Huegel Street.
They were preparing it for former Jewish residents of the town, now scattered all over the world, who returned, at the town’s invitation, for a weeklong visit that began Friday.
The youngsters, none of them Jewish, spent most of their free time at the cemetery. It took nearly six hours to repaint the epitaph of a single grave stone.
At times, extensive consultation of documents and sessions with experts were necessary to decipher what years of erosion, neglect and vandalism nearly destroyed.
But the students consider the effort both educational and edifying.
“This is the least we can do for these people,” said Sabine Rack, referring to the Jewish visitors. “We can’t undo what has been done. But we certainly want to let them know we care.”
Claudia Feder added: “This work taught me a lot about the fate of the Jewish citizens who lived in our town. I hope it will make it easier, both for us and for the survivors who come here this week to face one another and to develop a new relationship.”
The town leaders invited 214 Jews, former citizens of Moenchengladbach, which is located in the western state of North Rhineland-Westphalia.
Of the 160 coming, 70 are from the United States, 27 from Israel and others from France, Canada, Holland, Brazil, Peru and Paraguay.
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