Israelite cemetery Magdeburg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Israelitischer Friedhof Magdeburg, entrance gate
Morgue
Cemetery wall on Fermersleber Weg
Plaque Israelite cemetery at the cemetery entrance

The Israelitische Friedhof Magdeburg is a Jewish cemetery in the Leipziger Strasse district of the city of Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt .

Location and facility

The cemetery is located on the northern side of Fermersleber Weg at the address Fermersleber Weg 46 . The cemetery area is 15,500 m².

Around 3,000 people (as of 1998) were buried in the cemetery. The number of tombstones is given as 2250 (1998). Many historical tombs, especially from the 19th and early 20th centuries, including those designed in the classicism style, have been preserved. The inscriptions on the tombs are written in Hebrew and German. Jewish symbols such as David's shield , Levite jug , blessing priest's hands , candlesticks or crowns can often be found on the gravestones . Noteworthy are three tombstones from the 13th century, which originally come from the historic Jewish cemetery, the Judenkever Buckau , which existed until 1493, and which were walled up in houses in Magdeburg's old town . During the clearing of rubble after the end of the Second World War , a tombstone was found in the house at Grosse Münzstrasse 6 and two in the house at Breiter Weg 198, secured by Werner Priegnitz . The tombstones are among the oldest surviving Jewish grave monuments in Europe .

The celebration hall, built in 1864, is a typical Jewish sacred building from the early days . In the local register of monuments , the cemetery is listed as a monument under registration number 094 06157 .

An honorary grave was laid out for the 36 members of the Magdeburg community who fell in World War I. The children murdered in the concentration camps are also remembered at the grave.

History and architecture

The cemetery was founded in 1816 in the Sudenburger Feldmark. Other, but incorrect, information gives the year 1813. The Magdeburg synagogue community had previously written to the Magdeburg magistrate with a letter from the Israelite syndic Samuel Issak Elbthal dated November 15, 1815, asking for the sale or the granting of a long lease for the construction of a cemetery . The property should be one to two acres and be flood-proof. The magistrate declined the request. Nevertheless, the synagogue community managed to acquire two acres of arable land south of the city of Magdeburg on today's Fermersleber Weg. The magistrate and police department agreed to its use as a cemetery, so that it was used from 1816.

In 1838 the synagogue community founded an Israelite funeral society, Chewra Kadischa (Holy Brotherhood), which carried out burials in accordance with religious rites and guaranteed free funerals for needy members of the community.

In the period after 1860 the area of ​​the cemetery was expanded. At the same time, a cemetery wall was built. The two-storey mourning hall including an apartment for a cemetery attendant was also built in 1864 according to a design by the building councilor Johann Heinrich L´hermet and three greenhouses. The brick building has keyhole windows and pointed arches in the Moorish style. The portico has graceful columns. The lead glazing is still in the original. In 1898 the building was expanded according to a design by Ferdinand Dabelow and the celebration room was enlarged.

In 1912, another area for expansion was purchased.

During the time of National Socialism , the cemetery was spared attacks, neither grave monuments nor buildings were desecrated. During the Second World War, however, air strikes caused damage to buildings and graves as well as to the cemetery wall. Of the 3,200 Jews who lived in Magdeburg in 1928, however, were murdered during the Nazi era in 1521, including 287 children.

Only several years after the end of the war were sufficient funds available to repair the war damage.

In 1988 a menorah created by the sculptor Josef Bzdok was set up in the mourning hall .

Graves of famous people

The grave of the famous Magdeburg circus family Blumenfeld is located in the cemetery . In 1938 the educator and author Moritz Spanier (1853–1938) was buried.

literature

Web links

Commons : Israelitischer Friedhof Magdeburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Joachim Krenzke, Magdeburg Cemeteries and Burial Places , State Capital Magdeburg, City Planning Office Magdeburg 1998, page 150
  2. ↑ Jutta Dick, Marina Sassenberg (editor), Guide to Jewish Saxony-Anhalt, Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg Potsdam 1998, ISBN 3-930850-78-8 , page 392
  3. ↑ Jutta Dick, Marina Sassenberg (editor), Guide to Jewish Saxony-Anhalt, Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg Potsdam 1998, ISBN 3-930850-78-8 , page 392
  4. ↑ Hans-Joachim Krenzke, Magdeburg Cemeteries and Burial Places , State Capital Magdeburg, City Planning Office Magdeburg 1998, page 148
  5. ↑ Short question and answer Olaf Meister (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen), Prof. Dr. Claudia Dalbert (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen), Ministry of Culture March 19, 2015 Printed matter 6/3905 (KA 6/8670) List of monuments Saxony-Anhalt , Magdeburg.pdf, page 4649.
  6. ↑ Jutta Dick, Marina Sassenberg (editor), Guide to Jewish Saxony-Anhalt, Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg Potsdam 1998, ISBN 3-930850-78-8 , page 392

Coordinates: 52 ° 6 ′ 28.2 "  N , 11 ° 36 ′ 45.3"  E