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.
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.
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.
