Students Transform Jewish Cemetery in Belarus

Leah Antil ’09, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts Ralph Blasting and Loudonville orthodontist Dr. Michael Lozman led a group of eight Siena students to Belarus in June to help restore a neglected and overgrown Jewish cemetery. They worked alongside local students in the town of Kuranets installing a fence with an entry gate and clearing trees and brush from around the tombstones. The trees that were removed will be used as heating fuel for the local senior citizens’ home this winter.

“On this journey to Eastern Europe students learn about the devastation of WWII and are able to respond with their minds, hearts and hands,” Ralph Blasting said.

Prior to 1941, vibrant Jewish communities existed in nearly every city, town, and village in Belarus. During the war, a third of the population of the country died, with Jews a special target of the advancing German army. The Jewish cemeteries have become neglected and overgrown over the years as their communities have disappeared.

“This trip was definitely a different experience than any I have ever had before. I can say that I have left a very tiny footprint in an effort to make up for what the Jewish people experienced. Leaving Belarus was difficult because of the neighborhood kids that we worked alongside every day,” said Maria Shaikh ’13.

This is the third time members of the Siena College community have traveled to Belarus to restore cemeteries, having previously gone in 2006 and 2008.

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