The Jewish Cemetery in Rácalmás has been restored with the help of state funding. Parliamentary State Secretary László L. Simon from the Prime Minister’s Office called the 5 million forint renovation project a fine example of state support for a non-governmental initiative.
In Rácalmás, Mr. L. Simon stressed that the renovation was particularly significant, because it means the renewal of one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Fejér County thanks to a civil initiative; over 20 volunteers took part in the renovation work.
The Government’s intention is that the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust should be remembered in a way that helps individual small communities to identify with the commemoration of the Holocaust, the State Secretary said.
The 5 million forints in funding was awarded from a civil fund that the Government had set up in 2014 with a budget of one-and-a-half billion forints (EUR 4.8 million) to provide financial assistance for non-governmental and local government initiatives realised during the Hungarian Holocaust Memorial Year.
During the course of the renovation project, a Cemetery gate was constructed, 30 gravestones were renovated and a gravel path and overpass were established.
Mr. L. Simon emphasised that the most important message of the Hungarian Holocaust Memorial Year was to remember the events of 70 years ago and face them with responsibility “from the perspective of both the country and the individual”. The point of facing the past is to enable us “to learn from our mistakes while looking to the future” so that similar atrocities can never happen again, he added, noting that it was important that a commemorative plaque in memory of the former Jewish community of Rácalmás had been unveiled at the entrance.
Cemetery caretaker Viktor Nagy said that the first Jewish families settled in Rácalmás in the 1720s and the cemetery was opened in 1740. Research into local history has confirmed the existence of a thriving Jewish community, he said, adding that some 300 people from Rácalmás had fallen victim to the Holocaust.
Mr. Nagy also mentioned that renovation work had been ongoing since 2013 in cooperation with the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz) and with the help of over 20 volunteers. The restoration of the lower part of the 1300 square metre cemetery has been successfully completed, and work will continue in the upper area in the autumn.