Anonymous burial

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Grave slab for an unknown concentration camp inmate at the Scheppau cemetery

Anonymous burial stands for anonymous burial . In the case of an anonymous burial, no name is given at the burial site. An anonymous burial is usually an economically favorable form of burial.

Mostly a cremation is assumed, so the anonymity of the sea urn burial is inherent, this applies exclusively to an urn burial in cemeteries. In isolated cemeteries, anonymous full-body burial is possible. Since the individual design of the grave is excluded, there is no obligation to maintain the grave. Anonymous grave fields in cemeteries usually offer a central storage place for flowers and grave utensils.

In public use, the term anonymous burial often refers to a burial where neither the place nor the time of the burial is publicly known. Areas in cemeteries for anonymous burial are often freely - if incorrectly - referred to as green meadows .

Reasons for choosing an anonymous burial

Name steles on a communal grave, Stuhr-Moordeich cemetery

Recently, the term “anonymous burial” has also been extended to coffin or urn burials in communal graves if no money has been left for individual burial sites or there are no caring relatives. Sometimes the name and the life data of the deceased can be entered on a name board for a fee, so that the term "nameless burial" in the strict sense no longer applies. Due to the socio-economic development and the increasing distance of the population from the church , the "nameless burial" in a communal grave is becoming the predominant form of burial in some communities.

Burials in separate areas have already become common practice for some time in order to implement the wishes of the deceased. With burial costs rising , people in the lower income bracket in particular are forced to make use of an anonymous burial. Economic considerations such as the elimination of the death benefit in Germany in 2004 intensified the economic causes. In funeral provision by the still living, the desire for an anonymous burial is expressed more often, which depends less on economic reasons than on the desire to be a burden to "no one".

In the 1970s, burial culture began to change with an increased trend towards anonymous burials. Attitudes towards dealing with death are fluidly changing and ideas about body and nature influence this transition. The decision on the form of burial and the grave is determined by various factors, such as social situation, sexual identity , religious beliefs and local community.

Other reasons can be

  • The deceased cannot be identified: for example, in the event of mutilation or victims of war or disaster ( tomb of the unknown soldier , mass grave , genocide ).
  • Scientific object: for example anatomical or pathological corpses or school skeletons.
  • Protection against grave robbery or theft of corpses .
  • Protection of the site from public access: For example, if a burial site is to be prevented from becoming an undesirable place of pilgrimage , for example at Osama bin Laden (burial at sea in a secret location), the unknown burial site of John Lennon or the burial sites of criminals of the National Socialist regime. Or to prevent a grave desecration if the dead person was a socially ostracized person (e.g. gunman or terrorist assassin) or if the person had to reckon with hostile actions for other reasons (e.g. desecration of Jewish graves by neo-Nazis, or at politically controversial persons).
  • Protection of survivors and relatives . Members of the above-mentioned groups of people are often exposed to hostility. An anonymous burial and an anonymous grave can help prevent relatives from being confronted directly with such hostility during the burial or during subsequent visits to the grave.

In the Middle Ages and early modern times , suicide was considered a serious offense. Like criminals, suicides were judicially sentenced post mortem , often to a dishonorable burial without a tombstone or without a burial site by feeding or scattering the body parts or ashes of the corpse, the so-called donkey burial .

Criticism of the anonymous burial

Anonymous burials are viewed critically, especially by the Christian churches. The Evangelical Church sees this as a contradiction to biblical statements like Isaiah 43.1  LUT . From a pastoral and psychological point of view, it has been proven that even “survivors who have consented to an anonymous funeral later encountered considerable problems with the“ lack of place of mourning ”."

The Catholic Church also rejects anonymous burials. However, in her tradition she also knows orders like the Carthusians . He has always buried his deceased without a name. In particular, the "tendency towards quick disposal, in which the dignity of the deceased no longer plays a role" is criticized.

Personalities buried anonymously (selection)

literature

  • Traute Helmers: Anonymous under green lawn. A cultural studies study on new forms of burial and remembrance practices in cemeteries. Dissertation. Online publication 2005 ( short version ).
  • Norbert Fischer : On the way to the anonymous grave. In: Norbert Stefenelli (Ed.): Body without life. Encounters and dealing with the dead. Böhlau, Vienna 1998, pp. 261–268.
  • Sven Friedrich Cordes: Funeral provisions: reasons for choosing anonymous burials. In: Sven Friedrich Cordes: “I don't want to be a burden to anyone!” Social science perspectives on the economization of the funeral industry. Grin, Munich 2012 ( online ).
  • Dominic Akyel: The economization of piety. The change in the funeral market in Germany. Campus, Frankfurt / New York, 2013, ISBN 9783593398785 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Costs of anonymous burial. In: Bestattungsplanung.de . Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  2. ↑ Figures on the Moordeich cemetery in Stuhr near Bremen , accessed on August 18, 2018
  3. ↑ Gravesite of unknown concentration camp inmates. In: Alemannia Judaica . Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  4. ^ Students organize anonymous funeral for school skeleton. In: Stern (magazine) . Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  5. ↑ EKD texts on funeral culture ( memento from November 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Opinion on kathisch.de