Jewish cemetery (Lösnich)

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Inscription in Hebrew and German on a tombstone in the former Jewish cemetery from 1883 in Losnich 2014
The old Jewish cemetery of Lösnich from 1883 in the area "Im Arbert".

The old Jewish cemetery of Lösnich in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district was laid out at the end of the 19th century. Before the approval for the construction of the cemetery in 1883, the Jewish fellow citizens used another place as a burial place, but it must have been very close. The position description in a handwritten-made sketch refers to the almost two acre large parcel with the name "Castle Büsch" next to the meadows at Büsch Erbertsgraben. The creation of the new cemetery in the Erbert district was preceded by a decade-long dispute with the "Israelite Community".

history

As early as 1814 there was a dispute between the Counts of Kesselstatt and the community of Lösnich over the controversial property rights to the first Jewish burial place. The community stated that the Jews had no legal right to use this place as a burial place. The Counts of Kesselstatt, however, granted the Jews the right on the basis of information in old renovation files. The question of ownership itself was not finally clarified. The Counts of Kesselstatt were the last feudal lords of the Lösnich rule until the French occupied the areas on the left bank of the Rhine in 1794 .

In November 1864, the head of the Israelite community asked the mayor in Zeltingen to be allowed to surround the churchyard, which had been in use for 100 years, with a ditch so that cattle could be kept from grazing on the churchyard. The mayor of Lösnich gave his consent to the fencing plans, but pointed out that the Jews would not be granted any property rights, as they could not prove any title of property. In 1816 the parish had this parcel, most of which would be meadow, assigned to the pastor for use. The money collected from the logging would have been used to equip the Landwehr.

When the Jews in 1871 allegedly oak floor floor had cut off upon the burial ground, the dispute flared up again to the ownership and eventually led to a process before the civil court . On January 3, 1873, the trial was decided to the disadvantage of the defendants.

In June 1873 it was noted in response to a complaint by the Jews that the Jews would use two acres of land as a burial site for 41 people and that the Jews from Bausendorf , Erden and Kröv had the right to be buried in Lösnich. The Kröver came from Lösnich and would have buried their people in Lösnich for 27 years. But only two men from Kröv, and no longer than 30 years, were buried in Lösnich.

Eight years later, in December 1881, the mayor of Zeltingen received a complaint that the matter relating to the cemetery, which had been sued earlier, had not yet been dealt with. The old cemetery was completely overgrown and the entire area was covered with water from the path and was not suitable as a cemetery. A new burial place, which would correspond to the legal manner, has not yet been granted.

The complex of the new burial place

Gravestones still preserved on the old Jewish cemetery in Lösnich from 1883 in 2014
The entrance gate to the old Jewish cemetery in Lösnich from 1883, renovated in 2003

In January 1883 the long-standing dispute over the burial place of the Jews was finally settled. The local council decided to purchase a plot of land in the Erbert district (today "Im Arbert") in order to create a new burial site there. The official approval of this project took place on May 1st, 1883 by Mr. von Geldern from Trier .

Between 1885 and 1921, nineteen Jewish deceased were buried in the new cemetery. The last burial in the cemetery took place in May 1934.

The name Schoemann or Schömann, which was also a common name among Christian family names, is often found on the old Jewish gravestones. This has its origins in the French occupation of the areas on the left bank of the Rhine in 1794. In 1798 the French administration began to set up civil registry offices. In July 1808, a Napoleonic decree stipulated that the Jewish population had to adopt fixed, non-changeable first names and surnames. The Jewish families residing in Lösnich took over the Schömann family name, which was already widespread in Lösnich.

The maintenance of the Jewish memorial

Since 1946, the care of the Jewish cemetery as a memorial has been the responsibility of the community. On January 24, 2004, the Trierische Volksfreund reported on the maintenance work carried out on the memorial in Lösnich. In the summer of 2003, the wooden gate that had been destroyed by game damage was replaced by an iron gate designed with special motifs. The outer shape of the single-winged gate represents the “M” of the Middle Moselle. A stylized seven-armed chandelier indicates that this is a Jewish cemetery. Two stars of David should indicate that this is the second Jewish cemetery in the community.

swell

  • Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz, 56068 Koblenz, Karmeliterstraße 1/3, (see individual records)

literature

  • Marie-Luise Conen, Hilde Weirich: Jewish families on the Middle Moselle (= writings of the Emil Frank Institute. Vol. 11). Paulinus, Trier 2010, ISBN 978-3-7902-1377-5 .

Web links

Commons : Jüdischer Friedhof (Lösnich)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h 1 LHA Kobl., Abt. 655, 123 No. 696
  2. ↑ Conen, Weirich: Jewish families from the Middle Moselle. 2010, p. 100 f.
  3. ↑ Conen, Weirich: Jewish families from the Middle Moselle. 2010, p. 101.
  4. ↑ Conen, Weirich: Jewish families from the Middle Moselle. 2010, p. 22 f.
  5. ↑ Conen, Weirich: Jewish families from the Middle Moselle. 2010, p. 104.

Coordinates: 49 ° 57 '59 "  N , 7 ° 2' 42.3"  E