Lüneburg's Jewish Cemetery: Rebirth after decades of neglect!

Lüneburg's Jewish Cemetery: Rebirth after decades of neglect!

The renewal of a historical place: In Lüneburg, the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation is planning to restore and redesign the Jewish cemetery. This has been lying fallow for decades and is overgrown with grass. Individual gravestones stand at the edge of the site without any connection to the graves. This is not without consequences: a passer-by discovered a sooty gravestone and informed the police. This is based on vandalism. But thanks to new initiatives, the cemetery will soon shine in new splendor.

The cemetery, which was laid out in the 1820s by the then Jewish community, is a protected cultural monument and covers an area of ​​2082 m² with 14 gravestones. These are historically valuable because they were used during the construction of a temporary home for the RAD during the Nazi era and were discovered in 1967 when the home was demolished. What is unique is that Jewish burials in the cemetery will be possible again for the first time since 1939. Fortunately, there are already inquiries from the region.

Planned measures and financial support

The redesign is scheduled to be completed by the end of May 2026. Six steles dedicated to the 168 Jews buried there are also planned. These measures are not only a gesture of remembrance, but also aim to reach young people and reduce prejudices against Jews. The state of Lower Saxony is providing 130,000 euros for the redesign. Initiatives like this are urgently needed to preserve such important cultural sites and do justice to history.

The Jewish cemetery is not only a place of remembrance for the Lüneburg Jews, but also a piece of history that survived the National Socialist pogroms in November 1938. However, a lot has changed over the years. In 1944, the city had refugee homes built on the cemetery site, which were demolished in the 1960s, and the site has been derelict ever since. In recent years, new Jewish cemeteries have been built in other cities such as Oldenburg, Wolfsburg, Osnabrück and Hanover, which underlines the importance of such initiatives.

A call for remembrance and respect

The planned restoration of the Jewish cemetery in Lüneburg will not only set a structural example, but also a social one. The cemetery has a long and painful history that deserves to be honored. The Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation plays an important role here, not only in restoring but also in promoting intercultural dialogue. We can't wait to see how the implementation of this project goes and what other initiatives will follow.

You can find reporting on this topic at the following links: NDR reports that ... and Wikipedia provides information about the Jewish cemetery Lüneburg).