"... a thicket of thorns and weeds blanketing a handful of tombstones poking out of the undergrowth. ... They were stunned to discover that the entire cemetery had been cleared out, so that the 26 headstones towered over the mown lawn.... Overnight, the villagers had cleaned up the cemetery to make good on town manager Anna Bombarova's pledge to maintain it. ... Jesensky: "I am happy that it was still clean [since Bombarova] gave her word to the Bermans that our village would take care of this cemetery." ...[SECOND CEMETERY] "The people in Kecerovce had insisted that there was only one Jewish cemetery in the area, [so they talked to the] Gypsies and ... One of the men said he had come across some old gravestones in a nearby forest and took them to the site, but the overgrowth again proved too dense to penetrate." ..."Kassa, the city closest to Kecerpeklen (now incorporated into present-day Kecerovce)." " Jews in villages like Kecerpeklen were rounded up and sent first to Kassa and then to concentration camps. After World War II, of the 12,000 Jews who were in Kassa in 1944, only a handful remained. The majority, including most of Berman's Slovakian relatives, were deported to Auschwitz and exterminated." ..."According to Jesensky's research, only two Jews from Kecerovce survived the war. He says one is now a doctor in Kosice, and that he has only a name for the second." Source: see "Resurrecting a graveyard" by Hilary Leila Krieger. 22 Oct 2002http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/index.html?ts=1041661424. [October 2002]

UPDATE of previous entry: "Two villages, Kecerovsky Peklany and Kecerovsky Kostalani in Eastern Slovakia, quite near Kosice and Presov and joined by a bridge, have been combined into one village now called Kecerovce. The cemetery in the former Kecerovsky Kostalani is reached by crossing the bridge from the village of Kecerovce (former Kecerovsky Peklany). Continue straight down the road and slightly to the left until you reach the Christian cemetery. Park your car and continue to walk up a rough footpath. On the left side is a field of sunflowers (in summer). On the right, past the Christian cemetery, is the little Jewish cemetery. You can see the taller gravestones in the distance as you walk toward them. Vegetation was a problem until the villagers cleared it away for us. Then, we clearly saw twenty-four graves, which once were surrounded by a metal fence, which was stolen. The brick foundations for the fence still remain. The graves, exposed to the elements, are in quite good condition. Prominent names in this cemetery are Gottlieb, Weisz, and Lichtenstein (1857.) We were unable to find the cemetery in Kecerovsky Peklany described on this webpage. We were told by a gypsy where he had seen a few gravestones, even though the villagers insisted that there is only one cemetery in what was Kecerovsky Kostalani. However, with the help of a gypsy, we did find the location of the cemetery in Peklany. That cemetery can be located by walking up a rough path off the main road in the village, which leads to an orchard. Even climbing over the fence attached to someone's house, one just comes up against the same little forest preventing access. Entry to the area of these stones also is impossible from the orchard because forest foliage, nettles, and brambles have grown around the area. The same gypsy from the village is willing to try to cut down some of the foliage in the winter and try to locate the graves there. Since trying to enter the Kecer Peklany cemetery, a young student we met called Pavol Jesensky and his friends were able to enter the cemetery after cutting down all the trees and foliage and took photographs. Graves in this cemetery may be older than the ones in Kostalani. Source: Kathryn Berman, Jerusalem. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;

NOTE: a Jerusalem Post article mention previously noted has been removed because of incorrect information. [updated April 2004]
http://jewishwebindex.com/Slovakia.htm Supposedly, Bobby Furst This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. has a contact who will photograph headstones in this cemetery. [April 2004]

KECEROVSKE [PEKLANY?]: US Commission No. SLCE000088
Kecerovske is located in Kosice-vidiek, NE of Kosice. The isolated suburban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by crossing a garden and open to all with no wall or gate surround. 1-20 marble 20th century flat shaped tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions are original location. Site is used for waste dump or abandoned [unclear]. Properties adjacent are agricultural. Private visitors stop rarely. Vegetation is a moderate threat, disturbing and damaging stones. Pollution and vandalism are minor threats.

January 2009:

Map of Village

Photos of VIllage

Village Kecerovce
	Address:	Phone:	00 421 55 699 02 39
	Obecný úrad	Fax:	00 421 55 699 02 39
	Kecerovce	Email:	This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	044 47 Kecerovce SLOVAKIA