Solingen Jewish cemetery
The Jewish cemetery is located in downtown Solingen . It has existed since 1718 and was expanded in 1900. The oldest surviving tombstone dates from 1820, the last burial was carried out in 1941. The cemetery has been closed since then. For example, members of the Solingen entrepreneur family Coppel and the journalist Max Leven are buried in the cemetery.
The cemetery has been a listed building since June 15, 2001 and is registered in the Solingen monument list under number 1018.
history
There was a Jewish community in Solingen as early as 1708. From 1780 there was a prayer room with a mikvah on the corner of Südwall and Ufergarten. On March 8, 1872, in was Romanesque Revival built style synagogue on the corner Malteserstraße / Gerichtsstraße inaugurated. The building offered space for 150 men in the inner area and 80 women in the galleries. The synagogue was set on fire on the night of the pogrom in November 1938 and burned down completely. Victims of that night and of the persecution are buried in the cemetery.
In 1886 a 2.20 meter high wall was built to enclose the cemetery.
The cemetery chapel was built between 1913 and 1914 based on a design by Solingen architects Willy Scherer and Hermann Oelrich. It was inaugurated on September 14, 1914 [4] and badly damaged in the course of the pogrom of 1938, the ruin had to be demolished in 1939 at the request of the city administration.
Since 1969 there has been a memorial to commemorate injustice in the cemetery .
Memorial plaque of the fallen Jewish soldiers of the First World War
Tombstone Max and Emmy Leven
last tombstone from 1941
oldest tombstone from 1820
memorial
Gustav Coppel and family tomb
Construction of the cemetery
The cemetery is divided into three fields. On the oldest field A on the left of the entrance, the tombstones are arranged in 6 irregular rows. In 1874 the field was completely occupied and only children and stillbirths were buried on the peripheral areas reserved for them. Of these, 8 children's tombstones from the period between 1883 and 1910 have survived.
To the right of the entrance is field B, on which there are 61 tombstones. The deceased from 1876 to 1907 lie here in five regular rows. In the following years, only spouses and family members were buried in this field, provided that space had been reserved for them beforehand.
The newest field C with 70 gravestones is located further back and was occupied between 1908 and 1941. Only one stone is significantly older and should actually belong to field A.
Current condition
The 175 tombstones face south-east towards Jerusalem, in accordance with Jewish religious regulations. At the suggestion of the Lord Mayor, the care of the cemetery has been taken over by the Alexander Coppel Comprehensive School since 1988 in the form of a sponsorship. There are also two memorial stones.
After the synagogue was destroyed in 1938 , the cemetery is the last evidence of the Jewish religion and culture in Solingen.
Brass plates that were attached to the tombstones of the respective family commemorate victims who were murdered outside of Solingen after their deportation.
The cemetery is usually closed today and does not have open access. However, there are regular guided tours.
See also
literature
- Michael Brocke: The Jewish cemetery in Solingen - a documentation in words and pictures. City archive Solingen, Solingen 1996, ISBN 3-928956-08-6
- Manfred Krause (Ed.): "... that I would have to leave the place of happiness before I die". Contributions to the history of Jewish life in Solingen. Solinger History Workshop e. V., Solingen 2000, ISBN 3-9805443-3-8 .
Web links
- Solingen In: Overview of all projects for the documentation of Jewish grave inscriptions in the area of the Federal Republic of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Formation of the working group of the comprehensive school Solingen
- Solingen Jewish cemetery
Individual evidence
- ^ Jewish community in Solingen
- ↑ Solingen Monument List ( Memento of the original from December 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on solingen.de , as of December 2, 2013, accessed on June 25, 2015 (PDF, size: 129 kB)
- ^ Erecting the wall
- ↑ Michael Brocke: The Jewish cemetery in Solingen - A documentation in words and pictures. City Archives Solingen, Solingen 1996. p. 37
- ↑ Destruction of the synagogue in 1938 ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 51 ° 10 ′ 56.3 " N , 7 ° 5 ′ 33.1" E