After a horrific past, we can take consolation in the fact that there are some people who wish to redress the wrongs of the past, said József Schweitzer, Hungary?s retired chief rabbi, at a ceremony to mark the cemetery?s restoration on Sunday.
Schweitzer noted that 17 Jews were taken from Kapolcs in 1944 to meet their deaths. Reflecting on their end, he quoted the recently departed poet Zsuzsa Beney, who wrote of ?graves where candles are never lit, graves which the flowers of loved ones will never adorn.?
He also acknowledged the efforts of those who restored the cemetery out of love. ?We thank you for this healing love and return it with love,? he said.
The retired chief rabbi gave special thanks to István Márta, who heads the Valley of Arts festival, as well as the film director András Szőke, the teacher Gabriella Baji, the Lauder School and the Jewish Students Association for turning the dilapidated and overgrown site into a well-kept cemetery.
Also participating at the ceremony on Sunday were the cantor László Fekete and the parish priest Sándor Illés.
Sixty graves were set upright again, of which 47 showed a family name, András Szőke said. Altogether there are 170 graves in the cemetery, but many of the markers have crumbled.
In 1800, ten percent of Kapolcs?s residents were Jewish. The village had a synagogue and a Rabbi.
