Can you imagine this place as a haven during the darkest of times? This is the Neuer Jüdischer Friedhof. It is Dresden’s second Jewish cemetery. It stands beside the Trinitatisfriedhof.
The Neuer Jüdischer Friedhof spans 13,900 square meters. It holds around 2,600 graves. The Old Jewish Cemetery became too small around 1860. It was Saxony’s first Jewish cemetery. In 1864, the Jewish community bought land here. The land adjoined the Trinitatisfriedhof. They paid 1,000 Taler. In 1866, they founded this second cemetery.
Ernst Giese designed the mortuary in the same year. The Neuer Jüdischer Friedhof opened in 1867. The first burial took place in 1868. The Jewish community grew. In 1890, it needed to expand northward.
Unlike other Jewish cemeteries, this one adopted Christian traditions. Graves didn’t have to face east. Flowers and Christian symbols were allowed on gravestones. Cremations were permitted from 1911. By 1917, the Neuer Jüdischer Friedhof was again too small. The city and community agreed on a Jewish section in the planned Heidefriedhof. But the Nazis stopped this plan after seizing power. Former paths had to be used as grave sites.
During the Nazi era, the cemetery remained open. It became a vital social hub for the Jewish community. In 1943, all metal decorations and fences were removed. They were used for armament production.
The bombing of Dresden in 1945 damaged many graves. The mortuary burned down completely. Edmund Schuchardt rebuilt it after the war. Since the Semper Synagogue was destroyed in 1938, it was converted into a synagogue. The synagogue opened on June 18, 1950. The salvaged Star of David from the Semper Synagogue was placed on its dome. A hedge separated the synagogue from the graves. This was because a synagogue cannot stand in a cemetery. In 2002, the New Synagogue opened. The building then returned to its role as a mortuary. The original Star of David has been in the New Synagogue’s entrance since 2001. The mortuary has a replica.
From 1947, some destroyed graves were restored. During East German times, Aktion Sühnezeichen helped maintain the cemetery. Some grave fields were closed for burials over time. In 1990, new paving stones were laid to access the former synagogue. Before this, gravestones had been used as paving. It is unknown if they were moved during the Nazi era. It is also not known whether they were used after the war because of material shortages.
In the 1990s, there were several acts of vandalism. On August 29, 2010, the mortuary was firebombed. In October 2013, metal grave sculptures were stolen from several Dresden cemeteries. This included inscriptions and ornaments from the Neuer Jüdischer Friedhof. Georg Arnhold’s grave was among those affected.
In 2014, the cemetery expanded by about 2,000 square meters. This was on the southwest side. Dresden’s Jewish community had grown. In 2002, the cemetery had around 3,000 graves. This makes it one of Saxony’s largest Jewish cemeteries.
In 1916, Max Elb created a memorial for Jewish soldiers killed in World War I. Leipzig architect Wilhelm Haller designed it. It was likely the first memorial of its kind. It stands in front of the mortuary. Behind the hall, there is a monument to 20 Jews murdered by fascists from 1933 to 1945. Their graves were destroyed in the 1945 bombing. In 1950, their remains were reburied in a communal urn grave.
In 1975, desecrated Torah scrolls were buried in a Torah grave here. Since 1994, a memorial to the victims of Nazism has stood at the cemetery’s end. Hungarian artist Matyas Varga created it.
Many notable people are buried here. They include banker Georg Arnhold and historian Helmut Eschwege. The Neuer Jüdischer Friedhof is a place of memory. It is a symbol of resilience.