New Jewish Cemetery (Burgsteinfurt)

New Jewish cemetery in Burgsteinfurt

The New Jewish Cemetery Burgsteinfurt is located in the Burgsteinfurt district of the city of Steinfurt in the Steinfurt district in North Rhine-Westphalia . As a Jewish cemetery , it is an architectural monument and has been registered in the list of architectural monuments in Steinfurt since August 31, 1987 under monument number 213 . 95 tombstones have been preserved in the Hohenzollernstrasse / Rechtsstrasse cemetery .

History and structure

In 1882, members Josef Marcus and Marcus Leffmann offered the Jewish community of Steinfurt today's property. However, this was within the development plan, which precluded use as a cemetery according to the regulations at the time. Following a request from the Jewish community, the city council changed the development plan in agreement with the government in Münster , so that work on setting up the new cemetery could begin in spring 1884 and the first burial could soon take place.

In 1918 the Steinfurt factory owner Selig Wertheim, first chairman of the Chewrah Gemilus-Hasidim (burial brotherhood) founded in 1901, had a hall built on the left side of the cemetery for his son who died in World War I.

The cemetery was desecrated during the Reichspogromnacht in 1938.

In 1961, the municipality of Burgsteinfurt had a red stone plaque erected in front of the open lawn of the former hall with the inscription:

“In this square there was a hall that Mr. Selig Wertheim had built in memory of his son Otto Wertheim, who died in World War I in 1918. In memory of the members of the Burgsteinfurt Jewish community who perished as a result of National Socialist persecution. Burgsteinfurt 1961. "

Selig Wertheim was deported to Theresienstadt on July 27, 1942.

On the right half and in the back of the cemetery are the resting places with mostly well-preserved tombstones, some of which are written in Hebrew , some in Latin, some in German and Hebrew. The cemetery is surrounded by a low hedge, planted with some trees and overgrown with ivy. It was occupied until 1974.

The cemetery is maintained by the city of Steinfurt. It is locked, a visit can be requested from the city of Steinfurt by calling the tourist office telephone number given at the entrance gate.

Old graveyard

Former Jewish cemetery in Burgsteinfurt

There are no more gravestones in the old Jewish cemetery (Park Bagno, Auf dem Roddekamp), which was occupied from before 1759 to 1906. This cemetery was hit by bombs during World War II . As early as the mid-1860s, there were signs that the cemetery at Bagno would soon be occupied, so a search was made for new land. A stone with an inscription reminds of the importance of the place: “The place you stand on is sacred ground. Here at the Bagno entrance was the old cemetery of the Burgsteinfurt Jewish community. Peace to those who rest here. "

Web links

Burgsteinfurt (Neuer Friedhof) In: Overview of all projects for the documentation of Jewish grave inscriptions in the area of the Federal Republic of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia.
Burgsteinfurt (North Rhine-Westphalia) on jewische-gemeinden.de

Individual evidence

↑ Willi Feld: "... that the local Jews are important for Steinfurt." The Jews in the history of the former city of Steinfurt. Lit-Verlag, Münster 1996, 2nd revised edition 2009. ISBN 978-3-8258-2982-7 , pp. 169–171
↑ Willi Feld: "... that the local Jews are important for Steinfurt." The Jews in the history of the former city of Steinfurt. Lit-Verlag, Münster 1996, 2nd revised edition 2009. ISBN 978-3-8258-2982-7 , p. 233.
^ Burgsteinfurt (Alter Friedhof) In: Overview of all projects for the documentation of Jewish grave inscriptions in the area of the Federal Republic of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia.
↑ Willi Feld: "... that the local Jews are important for Steinfurt." The Jews in the history of the former city of Steinfurt. Lit-Verlag, Münster 1996, 2nd revised edition 2009. ISBN 978-3-8258-2982-7 , p. 169