Could these plaques before you speak volumes of a community’s history? These memorial plaques commemorate the former Ottensen Jewish Cemetery. They stand in the stairway to the lower ground floor of the Mercado shopping center. The plaques have been here since 1996.
The Gedenktafeln jüdischer Friedhof list the names of 4500 people. These people were buried in the Ottensen Jewish Cemetery. Some plaques remain blank. These blank spaces leave room for names researchers may discover.
The Ottensen Jewish Cemetery had a long history. It stretched back to 1663. The National Socialist regime closed it in 1934. In 1939, the Nazis seized the cemetery grounds. Only 175 graves could be moved. The rest were ravaged during the construction of air-raid shelters.
After World War II, the grounds returned to the Jewish community. The Shoah had ruined the cemetery. It could not be restored. The community sold the land to the Hertie department store group. In the 1950s, a department store was built here. In 1988, the department store was torn down. It was replaced by the Mercado shopping center.
The construction of the Mercado faced fierce protests. Groups like the Jewish Atra Kadisha opposed it. This organization campaigns for the preservation of Jewish cemeteries. The debates ended with an arbitration ruling. Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Yitzhak Kolitz made the ruling. It stipulated no underground works during construction. It also stated that existing graves could not be damaged. The new owner of the Mercado shopping center financed the memorial plaques.
In 1997, artist Hildegund Schuster created a mural. It is located on the building wall at Kleine Rainstrasse 21. The mural shows images of the Jewish cemetery before its destruction in 1939. It also depicts scenes from the protests against the Mercado’s construction. Various groups criticized what they called a temple of consumerism.
These Gedenktafeln jüdischer Friedhof serve as a powerful reminder. They commemorate a lost space and the lives it once held. They also acknowledge the debates surrounding its transformation. The plaques and mural ensure the memory of the Ottensen Jewish Cemetery endures. They stand as a testament to Hamburg’s complex history.