Gravestones in Humenné's Jewish Cemetery, including one that has been defaced with a Nazi symbol. (source: Korzár/Jana Ottriová)
Police are investigating after Nazi symbols were discovered sprayed onto gravestones at the Jewish cemetery in the eastern town of Humenné. The cemetery, located in the town's Hubková area, is, like dozens of other Jewish resting places across Slovakia, effectively a historical monument given than the local Jewish community was exterminated or driven out during the fascist regime that ruled Slovakia during World War II.
Juraj Levický, a member of the Jewish Religious Community in Prešov and a caretaker of the Humenné cemetery, found the swastikas while visiting the site with a British journalist.
"On Tuesday, we toured the city's Jewish landmarks with a distinguished English journalist and visited the cemetery. To our horror, we discovered Nazi symbols on the headstones," Levický said, speaking at the site.
The cemetery was last documented in November for the JewishGen foundation, which helps genealogists trace Jewish heritage. At that time, no vandalism was recorded.
Levický reported the crime to the police, who have launched an investigation. "The designated officer of the District Police Department in Humenné has initiated criminal proceedings for the offence of desecration of a place of final rest," confirmed Jana Ligdayová, spokesperson for the Prešov Regional Police. The Jewish community in Slovakia has been formally recognised as the victim, with damages assessed as being at least €2,000.
A historic site
The Jewish cemetery in Humenné is one of Slovakia’s oldest and largest, covering nearly two hectares. Established in the 18th century, it was originally leased to the Jewish community by Count Csáky before being purchased outright. It contains over 900 graves containing the remains of more than 1,200 people, with the oldest dating back to 1776.
The inscriptions, mostly in Hebrew, feature biblical quotes and personal messages from families. Among those buried at the site are Humenné’s early rabbis, the father of organist Štefan Thomán (a student of Franz Liszt), and the grandparents of writer Ladislav Grosman.
Before World War II, Jews made up a third of Humenné’s 7,000 residents. Of the 2,200 Jewish citizens deported to concentration camps, only 176 survived and returned. Almost all of the survivors left in the years following the war; the town currently has no active Jewish community.
Cemetery documentation and protection
JewishGen aims to publish a comprehensive record of the cemetery, including a virtual guide to help visitors locate graves. Levický expects this project to take two to three years.
Around 40 visitors annually seek out relatives’ graves here. Since 2005, the cemetery has been fenced off thanks to efforts by Berthold Gross, a Humenné-born member of the Jewish Congress in New York.
However, the site has been repeatedly targeted by vandals. In 2003, headstones were defaced with Nazi and anti-Semitic slogans. A decade later, drunken youths smashed several gravestones but avoided prosecution due to their age.
“This kind of hate-driven vandalism should never happen,” Levický stressed, adding that additional security measures, such as barbed wire and a camera near the entrance, are being considered.
