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Jewish cemetery in Rakov, Belarus

The Jewish community in Rakov has existed since the 1620s. By the end of the 19th century, Jews made up 60% of the population in the village.

According to the information located on the plate of the cemetery gates, the cemetery was founded in 1648. According to sources, the first burial was made in 1664. By the 21st century, it has not survived. Now the oldest grave is considered to be dated 1767. During the Holocaust, the Nazis destroyed the Rakov Jewish community. Burials at the cemetery ceased in the 1960s. According to sources, up to 700 graves have been preserved in the cemetery. Many tombstones have been moved and are out of place. There are tombstones that have gone into the ground and fallen face down, on which the inscriptions are illegible. Overgrowth of vegetation and moss are among the main problems destroying the necropolis.

The Jewish cemetery in Rakov is located in the area of ​​Minskaya and Pushkina streets. It is considered one of the oldest Jewish necropolises in Belarus.

In the late 1950s, rumors spread in Rakov that Jewish smugglers had hidden gold in the cemetery in the 1920s. In search of treasure, the locals dug up a number of graves, causing damage to the cemetery. In addition, the authorities did not monitor the state of the necropolis, there were practically no Jews left in the village, and local residents used tombstones for household needs.

In the 1990s, a bazaar was located near the cemetery. Merchants and buyers walked around the territory of the cemetery, which was not enclosed by a fence. According to eyewitnesses, local children used the territory of the Jewish cemetery to play football.

In 2002, several Jewish families from South Africa and Israel donated funds to clean up the cemetery and build a fence. In 2005, a monument to Jewish victims of the Holocaust was opened on the territory of the cemetery. As a result, the number of cases of theft of tombstones by the local population has decreased. In addition, the residents of Rakov stopped shortening the way to retail outlets through the Jewish cemetery. According to local residents, the cemetery gates are closed. The keeper opens them for relatives who come to visit the graves of their ancestors.

Despite the damage and the displacement of a number of tombstones, the original layout of the cemetery has been preserved. On a hill, in the center, there are the most ancient burials. The later ones are in the lowland, on the outskirts.