1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Restoration project brings Novi Pazar's Jewish past to life

04:19

This browser does not support the video element.

August 28, 2024

For decades, the Jewish cemetery in the Serbian city of Novi Pazar was overgrown and abandoned. Before World War II, the city was home to a vibrant Jewish community, which was decimated during the Holocaust. In the years that followed, Novi Pazar's Jewish history was largely forgotten. Now, a private initiative is restoring the cemetery and reviving memories of the city's Jewish community.

Novi Pazar is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Serbia and is home to Bosniaks, Serbs, Roma, Gorani and Albanians. 

Before World War II, the city was also home to a small but vibrant Jewish community. Most of Novi Pazar's Jewish residents perished in Hitler's death camps, almost completely wiping out the city's Jewish community. As the years passed, very few traces of Jewish life in Novi Pazar remained. 

One of the only existing reminders of this community is the Jewish cemetery. After the war, it fell into disuse and decay. For decades it was used as a dump or a football pitch. 

Now, a private initiative is restoring the cemetery in partnership with the city. Members of the initiative and locals hope that the project will help the city remember how the Jewish community once contributed to Novi Pazar's prosperity and peaceful diversity.
 

Idro Seferi Reporter specializing in politics and society in the Western Balkans
Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW