Photographing Europe's Crumbling Jewish Heritage

A tombstone ravaged by weather and time at a cemetery in eastern Austria. In 1939, Europe’s Jewish population was around 9.5 million.
 

Abandoned graves in a village of rural Hungary. By 1945, after the Nazis’ attempt to exterminate them, Europe's Jewish population had plunged to 3.8 million, and many small Jewish communities throughout the continent were completely wiped out.

A gutted synagogue in a Slovak town where some 500 Jews once lived. Today only pigeons frequent the ancient structure.
 

A Jewish cemetery in the hills above Sarajevo. Beginning in the spring of 2018, 22-year-old student Matyas Kiraly has been searching for the stone remnants of Europe’s dwindling Jewish population.
 

Kiraly, who is studying Jewish culture in his hometown of Budapest, began posting smartphone snaps of his discoveries to Instagram, where his unpolished yet moving images immediately struck a chord.

Snow-dusted graves in an Austrian forest. In less than a year since launching his project, Kiraly has accrued nearly 10,000 followers on Instagram, many of whom comment to share their knowledge of Hebrew and Jewish symbology.

A broken tombstone in eastern Austria. The pitcher of water indicates the deceased’s lineage to one of Judaism’s most venerated tribes.

A broken headstone for a 4-month-old infant in a cemetery near Budapest. Kiraly discovered the vandalized fragment and placed it on a small plinth. An Instagram follower commented, “His name was Shlomo (Solomon). Thank you for repairing this memory.”
 
 

The interior of an abandoned synagogue in Slovakia. Kiraly says he researches in his spare time at home, then travels for the photography project every few months.

A damaged marker in western Hungary to three Jews who died during the Holocaust. Kiraly told RFE/RL* he seeks out “the oldest and most ruined” remains of Jewish communities.

A Jewish cemetery in Austria that was systematically destroyed by Nazis. After the war, Austrian locals built a memorial and walls from the broken tombstones, an act Kiraly describes as “a beautiful repentance by the Austrian people.”

Talmud books that Kiraly found for sale in Moscow. The battered texts were published in 1895.
 
 

A stone menorah outside a building in Sarajevo that was once the largest synagogue in Europe. The Great Synagogue, or Il Kal Grande, was vandalized by Nazis in 1941 and today houses the Bosnian Cultural Center.

Kiraly says not everyone understands the point of the photographs. “People have said the topic is boring nonsense. But those people who are interested are grateful, and proud of me.” *Quotes in this article were edited for clarity.