My friends and I continued our journey through the west of Belarus on 26 April. Again, this question came into our minds: what happens to Jewish heritage sites, when there is no or just a small Jewish community left? Others make use of these places and reshape them. We found such transformed landmarks in the towns of Molchad, Novaya Mysh, Baranavichy and Lyakhavichy. But we also found well preserved and maintained heritage sites and memorials in some of the mentioned towns and additionally in Kletsk and Kapyl.

Slonim – Great Synagogue

Slonim – Great Synagogue

Molchad – former synagogue or beit midrash

Molchad – Soviet war memorial

Molchad – Soviet war memorial

Molchad – former Jewish bakery

Molchad – Jewish cemetery

Molchad – Jewish cemetery

Molchad – mass killing site

Novaya-Mysh – Jewish cemetery

Novaya-Mysh – former synagogue

Baranavichy – mass killing site and deportation point

Baranavichy – former Great Synagogue

Baranavichy – former yeshiva

Baranavichy – former yeshiva

Baranavichy – Jewish cemetery

Baranavichy – Jewish cemetery

Lyakhavichy – Jewish cemetery, now a motodrome

Lyakhavichy – Jewish cemetery, now a motodrome

Kletsk – Jewish cemetery

Kletsk – Jewish cemetery

Kletsk – Jewish cemetery

Kletsk – former synagogue

Kletsk – former synagogue

Kletsk – mass killing site

Kapyl – Jewish cemetery

Kapyl – Jewish cemetery

Kapyl – Jewish cemetery

Kapyl – mass killing site

Kapyl – plaque for Menahem Mendel Sforim

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