DISTRICT: Fürth urban district.
LOCATION OF CEMETERIES:
- 1. Old: Inner city, Weiherstrasse, postcode 90762 (Detail).
- 2. New: Nordstadt , postcode 90765 Erlanger Strasse 99 (Detail).
IN USE:
- 1. Old: from 1607 until 1906. Extended six times by the end of the 18th century.
- 2. New: from 1906 until the present day.
NUMBER OF GRAVESTONES:
- 1. Old: approximately 6,500 remaining of an original 20,000 or so in total.
- 2. New: approximately 1,200 at present.
DOCUMENTATION: Both cemeteries
- Numerous individual gravestone photographs and general cemetery views in Alemannia Judiaca.
- Chronology of the Jewish Community in Fürth until 1945 by rijo-reseach.
- Jüdische Friedhöfe in Bayern publ. Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst, Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte.
PUBLICATIONS:
- Israel Schwierz: "Steinerne Zeugnisse jüdischen Lebens in Bayern" - refer to Sources below.
- Michael Trüger: Der jüdische Friedhof in Fürth, publ. Der Landesverband der Israelitischen. Kultusgemeinden in Bayern. 9. Jahrgang Nr. 63 in September 1994 page 25(Abstract).
- Gisela Naomi Blume: Der Alte jüdische Friedhof in Fürth: 1607-2007; Geschichte - Ritten - Dokumentation publ.2007 by Druck & Papier Meyer, Südring 9, 91443 Scheinfeld, Germany. ISBN 978-3-89014-280-7 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
NOTES:
- The old cemetery in the city centre, in Weiherstrasse, is enclosed within a large stone wall, which was renewed in 1993. When the cemetery was established in 1607 it was also used as a burial ground for the Jewish communities of Bamberg and Ansbach. Prior to 1607 the Fürth Jewish community had to use the burial grounds in Baiersdorf or Schnaittach. Desecration took place in 1928 and in 1938. In 1934, the remains of 60 children's graves were exhumed to be rebuired in another section for entirely spurious reasons. The original entrance gate was bricked up, many gravestones were smashed to pieces and sold to local stone masons. The mortuary was demolished. In 1941 a large pond was constructed in part of the cemetery to serve as a water reservoir for fire-fighting purposes. During an allied bombing raid in 1944 the north-easterly section of the cemetery received a direct hit and was largely destroyed. In 1949 the cemetery was restored as far as it was possible to do so. A memorial stone now serves to remind visitors of the desecration and destruction. The current appearance of this cemetery looks neglected.
- The new cemetery contains a very large mortuary, including an apartment for the cemetery caretaker. Several memorial plaques were dedicated in memory of those who lost their lives during the Nazi era. The first of these was consecrated in 1947 and another in 1949. In 1997 addiitonal memorial plaques recording the names of 890 Jews from Fürth who were murdered during the Nazi era were fixed on a wall inside the mortuary. There is also a war memorial in honour of the Jewish solders from Fürth who died in WW1. This cemetery too was desecrated, for the first time in 1928 and repeatedly during the Nazi epoch. This cemetery is kept in very good condition.
SOURCES: Alemannia Judaica, Schwierz, pages 163-167 (Schwierz LBI).
(Researched and translated from German October 2009)
UPDATE: [September 2013] Photos of the Jewish Cemetery are available here. (http://www.panoramio.com/group/253305)
Photos by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [2014]