The Cemetery of the Israelite Religious Municipality in Po？ega

Sa？etak The paper follows the fate of Israelite/Jewish cemetery in Po？ega from its founding, over the period of devastation and the attempt of liquidation, to its final reconstruction and restoration in 2006. Israelite cemetery in Po？ega presents nearly the sole memory of the formerly rather numerous Jewish community, which played a major role in the economic, cultural and social life of the town of Po？ega in the time span between the end of the 18th century and World War Two. The paper mostly relies on the archive material of Croatian State Archives in Osijek, the State Archives in Slavonski Brod – Department in Po？ega, and Hebrew Historical Museum in Belgrade. The initial attempts to restore the cemetery date back to the 1950s, when the descendants of the Jews from Po？ega turned to the National Committee of the Municipality of Po？ega with the request for the cemetery to be renovated. This had however not been realised before 2005. The conservation research of Jewish cemetery commenced in 2004, and it included systematic cataloguing, photographing and identifying the monuments in situ, along with the study of Jewish death registers. Thereby, the basis for drafting project documentation for the reconstruction of the cemetery was set. The cemetery has eventually been restored and put under protection as a cultural good of the Republic of Croatia