A 300-year-old Jewish cemetery near Kovno, capital of the Soviet Lithuanian Republic, has been taken over by municipal authorities for use as a housing site, it was learned here. The cemetery is located in the town of Jonava (Yeneve) and contains the graves of a number of famous men.
The confiscation of the burial ground was done “in a civilized manner,” according to eye-witness accounts reaching here. The tombstones were handled with care and moved to a corner of the site until it is decided which of them should be preserved.
But Jews in nearby Kovno and in Wilno, the old capital of Lithuania, who have relatives buried in the cemetery had no advance information of its shut down and were confronted with a fait accompli. Soviet Lithuanian authorities published the announcement of their plans for the cemetery site in a local newspaper which is not circulated outside of the town.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
