Schwelm Jewish cemetery

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Schwelm Jewish Cemetery, the gravestones facing southeast (towards Jerusalem)

The Schwelm Jewish Cemetery has existed since around 1776 and is located outside the built-up urban area of Schwelm ( Ennepe-Ruhr district , North Rhine-Westphalia ) in a rural area, about 1,300 meters on foot from the old town center. The cemetery was used by the Jews of Schwelms and the surrounding areas, including Gevelsberg and Langerfeld , for almost 170 years . The last funeral took place in 1943, roughly at the same time as the complete extinction of the local Jewish community.

86 gravestones have been preserved , including the oldest from 1713 (the stone was apparently moved to this cemetery) and the second oldest from 1817. A gravestone from the 20th century. is the work of the sculptor Leopold Fleischhacker . The cemetery has been a listed building since 1992 . The city of Schwelm and volunteers maintain and care for it in recognition of a Jewish law of indefinite rest for the dead .

Location and access

The cemetery is located south of the old town of Schwelm on the side of the mountain range Winterberg - Ehrenberg facing away from the city . The walkable connection from the town center leads over historical paths of the medieval connection between Schwelm and Cologne :

  • Kölner Straße - Im Wildeborn - Delle, or
  • Kölner Straße - Weilenhäuschenstraße - Max-Klein-Straße - continuation on forest and field paths via "Gooshaiken" / house Bandwirerweg 25

The latter route is part of today's Camino de Santiago and is signposted as such. In the "Gooshaiken" sections are protected as historic sunken road ( ground monument since 1991).

The cemetery borders on the village of Delle and is known locally as the "Friedhof an der Delle". Field paths lead at right angles to the cemetery from both the “Delle” street and from the crossing Bandverbinderweg (from house Bandwirerweg 25: out of town approx. 200 m).

Located on a slope facing south-east, the cemetery is surrounded on three sides by meadows and bordering on the forest on the east side. Its shape is largely rectangular with average dimensions of around 65 × 26 meters. A hedge and a basically locked gate keep the place peaceful. (Visitors receive a key from the city administration.)

History and description

Location of the first Jewish cemetery on the site of today's Hauptstrasse. 53a (center)

Until around 1776, the Schwelms Jews buried their dead at the foot of the outer city wall in the corner of a wall ledge. It is the current location at the intersection of Untermauerstraße-Schulstraße and there a building at the beginning of the “Brauereigässchen” (rear building to Hauptstraße 53). The building was erected over the former Jewish burial site. At the relevant time around 1776 there were about five Jewish families living in the city. They were not allowed to bury their dead in the regular cemetery within the city wall.

When no further graves could be dug at the foot of the wall, the Jewish community acquired the site of the cemetery outside the city that is preserved today. The choice of location favored a given slope of the area and its orientation to the southeast. According to old tradition, Jewish cemeteries were preferably built on slopes, with the dead and the tombstones facing southeast, towards the Holy Land and Jerusalem .

The first burial place on the city wall has been preserved, a Jewish law of eternal rest for the dead. The city administration disregarded this law and the protest of the Jewish community when in 1829 it approved the construction of the (today preserved) building above the cemetery.

In the new cemetery outside the city, occupancy began in the uppermost area of ​​the slope and expanded downwards. The two oldest gravestones can still be found today at the highest point: in the extreme north a stone with baroque decoration from 1713 (see below, Mirjam Hakohen), in the extreme west a remarkably well-preserved stone from 1817 (see below, Ansel Jakob).

A middle stepped path divides the cemetery area into about two halves. The south-west (from the entrance to the right) is occupied by an older burial ground, the north-east by a newer one. Immediately on the way and near the entrance are graves of outstanding community members, including community leaders from several generations of the Meyer family (see below).

Older burial ground from the 19th century.

The early graves are loosely arranged over the area. From the middle of the 19th century, the occupancy took on an increasingly ordered row structure. In chronological order, the grave sites join one another from the Mittelweg to the outside, continuing in rows down the slope. On the older burial ground, the chronology reaches the year 1911 in the bottom row at the far end. She jumps back up to the entrance in order to continue from there into the northeast part, forming the newer burial ground. Four rows are being created here on terraced terrain, the lowest with only a single grave, the last of the cemetery from 1943 (see below, Artur Cohn ).

The materials, shapes and inscriptions of the tombstones reflect the chronology of the place. The older stones from the time up to the late 19th century are mainly made of sandstone in a high rectangular shape, with a traditional round arch on the top. Their inscription was only in Hebrew until the middle of the century, when brief information in German began to be added on the back. At the end of the century, German changes to the obverse, initially subordinating itself to the Hebrew inscription. The tombstones are made of polished granite and are of increasingly varied shapes, especially often with obelisk motifs . The Hebrew wanders down to the base of the stone or on its back, in some cases it is completely abandoned.

In this development, the increasing assimilation and integration of the (Schwelmer) Jews into the local majority society manifests itself from the middle of the 19th century. Later tombstones of the 20th century. reveal the Jewish identity only discreetly, usually with short, standardized formulas in Hebrew, framing the German (main) inscription on the top and bottom (above: פ - "Here lies", below: תנצבתנצבה- Abbreviation for “His / her soul is tied into the bundle of life” ). In addition, in the 20th century the stones usually take on a broad rectangular shape as family grave stones.

The names of those buried show that the majority of them can be attributed to only six old Schwelms families, all of whom have belonged to the city for many generations, some since the 17th century.

Newer burial ground from the 20th century.
family in Schwelm over to get it
Ansel 4 generations 7 tombstones
Calmann 8 generations 10 tombstones
heart 5 generations 9 tombstones
Marcus 6 generations 7 tombstones
Meyer 7 generations 13 tombstones
Rosendahl 6 generations 8 tombstones

As users of the cemetery, the Jewish community in Schwelm at the end of the 18th century about 30 to 40 people, it expanded over the course of the 19th century. to up to 80 people at times and shrank again in the 20th century, most recently drastically. From the middle of the 19th century, Jews from the neighboring rural communities of Gevelsberg, Voerde , Milspe , Langerfeld and Sprockhövel also complemented each other as users of the synagogue and cemetery in Schwelm. The surviving tombstones with the names Auerbach, Barmé, Buscher, Frankenberg, Frankenstein, Podemski and Wendriner bear witness to them.

During the time of National Socialism , escape, deportation and murder decimated the Jewish community of Schwelms until it was completely extinguished at the end of 1944. During this time, the cemetery was repeatedly the target of vandalism and desecration, including during the “ Reichskristallnacht ” of 1938 in the vicinity of the Call for "Reichsmetallspende" from 1940, again in 1942 and 1945. Gravestones were smeared, damaged, overturned and smashed. In 1943 and 1945, witnesses described the place as "devastated" and "completely destroyed"; all the stones on the area had been knocked over.

One of the oldest stones, dedicated to Sarah Rosenthal, 1842 (left)

The first clean-up work from 1945 onwards was done by volunteer Martha Kronenberg . The city later got involved in the restoration and repair of the tombstones. Stones may not have been re-erected in their original location, so that today's picture does not allow a reliable historical statement. One of the stones was placed upside down, with the Hebrew inscription on the back. Fragments of destroyed stones were not preserved. The large number of empty spaces to be found today may be derived from the destruction. At least one known grave (manufacturer Josef Wassertrüdiger) can no longer be found.

The preservation and maintenance of the cemetery have been regulated by an agreement between the federal and state governments since 1957 . According to this, the city of Schwelm receives a permanent financial grant to carry out the care. The owner is the regional association of the Jewish communities of Westphalia-Lippe , based in Dortmund . The importance of the cemetery as a testimony to German-Jewish cultural history recognized its protection as a monument in 1992.

In 1988 Adalbert Böning from Hagen created a translation of 18 Hebrew inscriptions on selected gravestones. In the same year the Schwelm city archivist Gerd Helbeck published a list of the names and life dates of all still legible and translated grave inscriptions in the cemetery (96 named persons). In 2017, a cemetery plan was created as a volunteer work, which is also published online (see below ).

In 2016, the condition of the cemetery was described as critical, threatened in some areas by overgrown shrubbery and weeds on the grave areas. Individual gravestones have already overturned due to the wild growth.

Tombs of particular interest

Numbers are given for the grave sites described below, which refer to the cemetery map from 2017 shown:

Cemetery plan part 1 (southwest part)
Cemetery plan part 2 (northeast part)
Appendix: names and dates

Bejle, Mrs. Herz Joseph

The Hebrew inscription shows the word "Schwelm" (see marking)

This tombstone (No. 2) is the largest and most striking of the oldest stones in the cemetery. Dated from 1843, it is dedicated to Bejle, the wife of the cattle dealer and butcher Herz Joseph from Schwelm. On the stone is the word "Schwelm" (שּׁװﬠלם) from the Hebrew inscription (see photo). A clearly recognizable break runs through the middle of the entire stone, as a reference to vandalism.

The Bejles family enjoyed a prominent status among the Schwelm Jews. Father-in-law Joseph Meyer advanced from simple servant to assessor of the Brandenburg Jews and was one of the first so-called from 1755. Protective Jews Schwelms. Living in his own house at Kirchstrasse 15 (today a listed building), Meyer and his children founded four of the aforementioned important Jewish families of Schwelms. His only son Herz Joseph and his wife Bejle continued the house and the father's cattle trading profession in the 19th century.

The detailed grave inscription highlights Bejle's charitable work for the benefit of the needy. Three of her sons also became cattle dealers and changed to the family name Herzsohn. The eldest son Joseph was also honored with a tombstone in an honorable location directly on Mittelweg (No. 71).

David Meyer and Bejle

David Meyer (d. 1844, no. 3) was head of the city's Jewish community for a long time. With his wife Bejle (d. 1827, neighboring stone no. 4) he lived in a house at today's Kirchstrasse 13, as a neighbor to Herz and Bejle Joseph. Until the Schwelm Synagogue was built (1819), the Meyers made their house available to the Jewish community as a place for church services. In 1829 Meyer protested as the community leader against the intention of the city administration to build a house on the first Jewish cemetery on the city wall, in violation of Jewish laws.

David Meyer jun.

Son David Meyer junior (1799–1889, no. 10) was also the head of the community for a long time and was also a member of the Schwelm city council. When he died in 1889, the city administration certified that he had “earned high and general respect among his fellow citizens of all denominations”.

David Meyer jun. broke away from the professional tradition of cattle traders together with brother Herz Meyer, both founded a trading business in their parents' house, later the bank "David Meyer's Sons". Apparently in connection with the establishment of the bank, they rebuilt the family's ancestral home around 1840 at the same location. The new building is the preserved, listed building at Kirchstrasse 13 .

Meyer's gravestone is of a similar traditional design to that of his father, but already has a German inscription on the reverse. The grave text describes Meyer as "shepherds of his community" and "wise and dear man". A neighboring, heavily weathered stone (No. 11) is ascribed to his wife Sara Chana and calls her "her husband's crown".

Herz and Amalie Meyer

The two tombs of the banking couple Meyer (nos. 20 and 21) are among the most imposing in the cemetery. They are designed as broken columns, once a popular symbol for life ended early. Herz Meyer (1807–1889) founded and ran the "David Meyers Sons" bank in Kirchstrasse together with his brother David and was also a member of the Schwelm city council. The family banking business was continued by his son Emil Meyer (No. 41) and grandson Carl Otto Meyer (No. 53).

Joseph and Elise Meyer

As the son of David Meyer jun. Joseph Meyer (1839–1911, No. 57) took over the Meyersche Bankhaus in the next generation and also continued the honorary office of the mayor. In 1898 he sold the main building on Kirchstrasse and relocated the bank and apartment to Schulstrasse 7 (which is now preserved and listed) . His wife Elise came from a Düsseldorf banking family and was the sister of the social activist and author Helene Simon .

Son Hermann Meyer (1873–1922, no. 72) also became a banker and community leader. During his time, the bank collapsed at the beginning of the First World War. As a soldier at Verdun , Hermann Meyer suffered head injuries from which he later died. His wife and children emigrated impoverished to Palestine .

Ansel Jakob

The grave site of Anschel, son of Jakob (died 1817, no. 7) is the oldest in the cemetery, with a barely weathered tombstone. Anschel came from Bochum and became one of the seven or so guardian Jews in Schwelm in the late 18th century. He married into the family of the assessor Joseph Meyer at Kirchstrasse 15 and moved into the house opposite with his own family (today Kirchstrasse 12 ). His sons Joseph and Aron took the family name Anschel.

The remarkably well-preserved epitaph gives a hint to the central theme of the eternal rest of the dead in Jewish cemeteries: "His body sleeps in the earth, his soul is taken up in the Garden of Eden."

Aron Ansel

This tombstone (No. 19) was put back upside down due to ignorance, with the Hebrew inscription on the back. Aron Anschel (1798–1866) was the son of Anschel Jakob and like him in the same profession as a cattle dealer, he also lives in the same house at Kirchstrasse 12. Business connected with his older brother Joseph (No. 23), Anschel acquired considerable real estate in town and town Surroundings. A descendant, Albert Anschel (no. 68), sold the property on which the Märkisches Gymnasium was built to the town of Schwelm in 1909 .

Mirjam Hakohen

The baroque adorned tombstone of Mirjam, daughter of S (chmue) l Hakohen (d. 1713, no. 69) is older than the cemetery and is therefore likely to have been moved here from the first Jewish burial place on the city wall. Mirjam can be presumed to be the wife of one of the four protected Jews documented in Schwelm around 1700. She came from a family of priests ( ha-kohen ). The partially weathered inscription was almost completely identified by the Salomon Ludwig Steinheim Institute in 2019 .

Joseph Heart

Dr. Joseph Herz (1850–1931, no. 80) was one of the first academics to emerge from the Jewish cattle dealer and butcher families Schwelms. As a doctor, he lived and practiced in what is now the listed building at Kölner Straße 3. With the honorary title of " Medical Council ", he enjoyed a high reputation among the Schwelm population and in 1920 became an honorary member of the Schwelm Doctors' Association . A younger brother of his was Moritz Herz (No. 78), who ran a paper goods factory in what is now Hattinger Strasse 43.

Moritz and Lina Marcus

The tombstone (No. 81) is a work by the Jewish sculptor Leopold Fleischhacker from Düsseldorf . The signature can be found on the left side of the base. The stone reflects the so-called International style and is the only one in the cemetery to have asymmetrical shapes. Moritz Marcus (1871–1933) was the older son of the cattle dealer Meyer Marcus (No. 40), and lived in the now preserved building at Bahnhofstrasse 37 . His daughter was Erna Cohn (see below under Artur Cohn).

Artur Cohn

This tombstone (No. 86) is the last in the cemetery, probably erected after the end of the war in 1945. Artur Cohn (1906–1943) came from a department store owner's family in Attendorn and in 1937 married Erna Marcus, a Schwelmerin. He fell ill with tuberculosis and was cared for by his wife in the Schwelmer " Judenhaus " until his death in 1943. Erna Cohn buried her husband in the cemetery, which she described as "completely destroyed". She was then deported and survived the Auschwitz extermination camp .

Others

Only streiflicht reveals the identity of some stones (Rosa Meyer, approx. 1883)

Markus Herz (1801–1865, No. 17) was temporarily head of the community and ran a butcher's shop on what is now Hauptstrasse 66. With his son Dr. Joseph Herz and grandson Dr. Kurt Herz, both physicians, the family gained a high reputation in the city. A butterfly on the tombstone, designed as a relief in the classicistic triangular gable, refers to the traditional use of symbols in Jewish cemetery culture.

Meyer Marcus (1832–1895, no. 40) built the (preserved) house at Bahnhofstrasse 37 as a cattle dealer. It passed on to his sons Moritz (no. 81) and Otto (no. 65) and from around 1940 onwards became known as Schwelms only "Jewish house".

The remarkably large family grave of Otto Marcus (1876–1918, No. 65) remained empty except for his own name. Marcus died of an injury in World War I. His wife and three children escaped from the National Socialists by fleeing to the USA.

swell

  • Marc Albano-Müller: “Would you like to eat with us, Miss Herz?” Martha Kronenberg and Erna Speier-Cohn tell the story. Two swelter women defy National Socialism. In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. Vol. 65, 2016, ISSN  0343-2785 , pp. 7-89 (also on the Herz family: pp. 106-109, on the Jewish cemetery: pp. 128-129).
  • Marc Albano-Müller: New Research on the Schwelm Jewish Cemetery. Udo Beckmann: A bush reason in the Mehrenberger Mark von Eight Sixty to the Jewry in Schwelm to their churchyard. In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. Vol. 68, 2019, ISSN  0343-2785 , pp. 45-56; 41-44.
  • Adalbert Böning: Hebrew inscriptions on the Jewish cemetery in Schwelm. In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. (Article in 2 parts and 2 volumes :) Vol. 38, 1988, pp. 131-144, and Vol. 39, 1989, pp. 39-46.
  • Michael Brocke , Christiane E. Müller: House of Life. Jewish cemeteries in Germany. Reclam, Leipzig 2001, ISBN 3-379-00777-3 .
  • Gerd Helbeck: Jews in Schwelm. History of a minority from the beginnings in the 17th century to National Socialism. 2nd Edition. Schwelm 2007 (1st edition: Verlag "Unter Uns". Schwelm 1988, DNB 890560048 ).
  • Kurt Wollmerstädt: From the history of the Jews in Schwelm. In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. Vol. 30, 1980, pp. 21-47.

Web links

Commons : Jüdischer Friedhof Schwelm  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Schwelm (New Cemetery). In: Overview of all projects for the documentation of Jewish grave inscriptions in the area of ​​the Federal Republic of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia. Editor: Claudia Pohl. University of Heidelberg (first version: December 2002; updated; before that the documentation of the old [Jewish] cemetery).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wilhelm von Kürten: The traffic position of the Schwelmer area in the course of time. In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. Vol. 10, 1960, pp. 5-7.
  2. Map of the route at jakobswege-europa.de, accessed on February 24, 2019.
  3. List of monuments of the city of Schwelm according to § 3 DSchG NW of March 11, 1980. Overview of the objects previously listed. Status: November 2007, p. 4 ( schwelm.de ; PDF; 91 kB; accessed on February 24, 2019; see there “Bodendenkmal Nr. B1”).
  4. Wollmerstädt pp. 26, 36.
  5. a b c Helbeck pp. 114–116.
  6. Helbeck p. 27, Wollmerstädt p. 21.
  7. Wollmerstädt p. 25.
  8. Wollmerstädt p. 26; Böning (1988) p. 131.
  9. a b See cemetery plan from 2017 .
  10. a b Böning (1988) p. 132.
  11. Head David Meyer senior, David Meyer jun., Joseph Meyer, cf. 2017 cemetery plan . - Jewish cemeteries often have "honorary areas" near the entrance for deserving personalities, cf. Brocke / Müller pp. 21, 22.
  12. a b Helbeck p. 117.
  13. a b c d Böning (1988) p. 131.
  14. Cemetery plan from 2017 .
  15. Helbeck pp. 128-131.
  16. Helbeck p. 127.
  17. Wolfgang Fenner : Schwelm. In: Historical handbook of the Jewish communities in Westphalia and Lippe - the localities and territories in today's administrative district Arnsberg (= publications of the historical commission for Westphalia. New series. Volume 12). Edited by Frank Göttmann . Ardey-Verlag, Münster 2016, ISBN 978-3-87023-284-9 , p. 704; Helbeck pp. 44, 73-74.
  18. ^ To Auerbach, Barmé, Frankenberg: Wollmerstädt p. 33; to Frankenstein, Buscher, Wendriner: Rolf Kappel: Unknown where moved. Jews in Gevelsberg (= contributions to the promotion of Christian-Jewish dialogue. Volume 7). Reiner Padligur, Hagen 1991, ISBN 3-922957-31-5 , pp. 98, 102, 115.
  19. a b Wollmerstädt p. 36.
  20. ^ Adolf Diamant: Jewish cemeteries in Germany. An inventory. Frankfurt am Main 1982, p. 168; on 1938 and 1942: Wollmerstädt pp. 34–36.
  21. Albano-Müller pp. 47, 65, 77; Wollmerstädt p. 36.
  22. Albano-Müller p. 77.
  23. a b It is a recurring problem of Jewish cemeteries in Germany, cf. Brocke / Müller pp. 119, 136.
  24. a b Böning (1989) p. 43.
  25. Wollmerstädt p. 40.
  26. a b Report and recommendations of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs on the Preservation and Care of Jewish Cultural Assets in Germany of December 6, 1996 ( PDF; 142 kB ). In: dnk.de. German National Committee for Monument Protection , accessed on February 24, 2019; For the original content of the agreement from 1957, see also an administrative regulation of the Ministry of the Interior and for Sport of March 8, 2000 ( PDF; 52 kB ). In: Alemannia Judaica , accessed on February 24, 2019.
  27. Wollmerstädt p. 38.
  28. List of monuments of the city of Schwelm according to § 3 DSchG NW of March 11, 1980. Overview of the objects previously listed. Status: November 2007 ( schwelm.de ; PDF; 91 kB; accessed on February 24, 2019; see there No. 152 “Judenfriedhof”).
  29. See under sources .
  30. List published in: Helbeck pp. 132-134.
  31. Albano-Müller p. 129.
  32. a b Böning (1988) p. 136.
  33. a b Helbeck pp. 130, 133.
  34. Helbeck p. 39; Böning (1988) p. 136.
  35. Helbeck p. 84.
  36. To Kirchstr. 15: Detlef Weinreich: A Schwelmer tax list from 1701. In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. Vol. 22, 1972, p. 101 (see house no. 67); on the Meyer family: Helbeck p. 130 f.
  37. Helbeck pp. 67, 130.
  38. Helbeck pp. 105, 130.
  39. Helbeck p. 38.
  40. a b Helbeck p. 40.
  41. Helbeck p. 114.
  42. a b c Helbeck p. 39.
  43. Böning (1988) pp. 135, 137.
  44. Böning (1988) p. 138.
  45. Helbeck pp. 117, 121.
  46. Helbeck p. 128.
  47. Helbeck p. 46.
  48. Helbeck pp. 51, 67.
  49. Helbeck p. 56.
  50. Wollmerstädt p. 38, Helbeck p. 58.
  51. a b Böning (1988) p. 133.
  52. Helbeck 23, 130.
  53. Detlef Weinreich: A Schwelmer tax list from 1701. In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. Vol. 22, 1972, pp. 87, 89 (see house no. 7).
  54. Helbeck pp. 109, 130.
  55. Helbeck pp. 67, 70-71, 130.
  56. Karl-Josef Ober Dick: between peaceful and military build enthusiasm. The Schwelmer Realgymnasium in the years 1912–1914. In: Contributions to the local history of the city of Schwelm and its surroundings. Vol. 66, 2017, p. 72. (Albert Anschel was the son of Joseph Anschel).
  57. Monument attracts attention. Jewish cemetery in Schwelm gets its own page in Wikipedia . In: Westfalenpost (Schwelm), April 30, 2019
  58. Helbeck pp. 49, 77.
  59. Wollmerstädt p. 39; Albano-Müller p. 106.
  60. Albano-Müller p. 17.
  61. Albano-Müller p. 48.
  62. Albano-Müller pp. 16, 57.
  63. Helbeck p. 93; Albano-Muller p. 76; see. Brocke / Müller p. 16.
  64. Albano-Müller pp. 20–22, 71 ff.
  65. Helbeck pp. 70, 108.
  66. Wollmerstädt p. 39; Albano-Müller p. 106.
  67. Brocke / Müller p. 29 ff.
  68. Albano-Müller pp. 16, 21-22.
  69. Wollmerstädt p. 41; Albano-Müller p. 32 f.

Coordinates: 51 ° 16 ′ 23.3 "  N , 7 ° 17 ′ 57.3"  E