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Sponsor-A-Panel Program
Lunna,
Belarus
Interested in contributing to the
project?
For $200, you can sponsor a panel of the
fence that we use to surround the cemetery grounds.
Alex Gelman '06, Project Leader from the
2004 trip
displays plaque affixed on Kamenka,
Belarus cemetery
fence.
Donors for this year's fence thus far:
George Blumenthal '66
Below is a form letter from this
year's project leader:
February 8, 2005
Dear Friend:
This June, twenty students and three advisors will travel
under the auspices of Dartmouth Hillel and Dartmouth College to Belarus to
erect a wrought-iron fence around a long-abandoned Jewish cemetery. Prior
to the Holocaust, Lunna, this year’s destination, was predominately Jewish.
Today, not a single Jew resides in Lunna and, to our knowledge, only three
Jews of thousands survived the Holocaust. The two local Jewish cemeteries
are abandoned; overgrown weeds and toppled gravestones serve as distant
reminders of a history long forgotten. With the desecration of the two
Lunna cemeteries, the link between generations was broken and the last
remnant of a culture eradicated.
We hope to honor the memories of those killed by restoring
these cemeteries. As a team, we will sanctify a once vibrant Jewish
community by demarcating the cemeteries from their surroundings, righting
fallen gravestones, and beautifying the cemeteries’ grounds. We will also
create detailed historical records of the Lunna cemeteries.
As a team we are raising funds to cover the cost of
purchasing a wrought-iron fence, which we will then install. The fence is
made of panels, each spanning nine feet in length with two Stars of David,
as shown in the attached brochure. These panels, constructed in Belarus,
will cost approximately $8,000 altogether. We are looking for individuals,
families and groups to sponsor the fence for $200 per panel. We plan to
erect a plaque next to the cemetery, listing all of the sponsors. For every
panel donated, $100 will cover the cost of the actual panel and $100 will
sponsor a student to attend the trip. Of course, a donation of any amount
would be extremely appreciated.
This summer will mark the fourth year for this service
project. In prior years we traveled to Kamenka, Amdur, and Sopotskin, all
villages in Belarus, to conduct similar cemetery projects. To view
information, pictures and stories from the past project, please visit our
website at www.dartmouth.edu/~projpreservation/.
If you wish to help fund and be an integral part of this
restoration effort, please complete the attached form and return it with a
check payable to Dartmouth Hillel (5 Occom Ridge; Hanover, NH 03755) by May
15th. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me
at Lydia.Gensheimer@dartmouth.edu or call me at (603) 646-0410.
Thank you in advance for your time and thoughtful
contribution.
Sincerely,
Lydia Gensheimer ’06
Project Leader
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