In 1943, Slovakia’s pro-Nazi puppet regime confiscated the old Jewish cemetery in Bratislava (known before 1918 as Pressburg)—which dated back to the 17th century—planning to pave it over and build a tram line where it once lay. Somehow, the Bratislava Jewish community managed to convince their rulers to allow them to reinter the bodies and even to preserve the grave of the city’s best-known rabbi, Moses Schreiber (1762-1839), perhaps because the authorities feared that there was a curse placed on his grave. The decision led to the construction of a mausoleum that still survives. Henry Abramson describes the cemetery and its history and tells the story of Schreiber, also known as the Ḥatam Sofer, who played a key role in the development of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism. (Video, 13 minutes.)
Read more on Jewish History Lectures: https://jewishhistorylectures.org/2018/10/31/the-tomb-of-the-hatam-sofer-in-bratislava-slovakia/