Here lies a place of reflection. This is the Jüdischer Friedhof Ahrensburg. It is a testament to a community that once thrived here. Let’s step inside and discover its story.
The Jüdischer Friedhof Ahrensburg is located in Ahrensburg. It is in the Stormarn district of Schleswig-Holstein. You will find it on Wulfsdorfer Weg. The cemetery spans 840 square meters. A hexagonal wall surrounds it. The gate is usually locked securing the area.
Inside, six oak trees stand tall. Three rows hold 23 gravestones. Many bear the name Lehmann. Nature has been allowed to reclaim the site. Graves are covered in vegetation. Only the grass is regularly mowed.
A paved path leads to a memorial. It was erected in 1994. Small boulders form the memorial. A sign addresses the coexistence of Jews and Christians.
Jewish citizens first settled in Ahrensburg in 1788. The Jewish community was established in 1822. In that same year, this Jüdischer Friedhof Ahrensburg was created. The first burial took place a year later. The cemetery was enclosed in 1876. A chapel was built near the entrance four years later.
The last burial occurred in 1923. The Jüdischer Friedhof Ahrensburg was enclosed by a stone wall in 1930. During the Reichspogromnacht in 1938, the chapel was set on fire. Graves were desecrated. The last Jew from Ahrensburg was deported in 1941.
In 1959, the cemetery first went to an administrative company. Then it went to the Jewish community of Hamburg. In 2007, the state association of Jewish communities of Schleswig-Holstein took over its care.
Dr. Martina Moede stumbled upon the Jüdischer Friedhof Ahrensburg during a walk in 1997. This led her to research the history of the Jewish community.
During Reichspogromnacht the three Lehmann brothers were arrested. They were Harry, Ludwig, and Magnus. They ran a grain business. Otto Lehmann tried to photograph the burning synagogue in Kiel. He was arrested too.
The Lehmann brothers were deported to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Otto Lehmann emigrated to South America. Magnus Lehmann was deported to Minsk in 1941. He was murdered. Malie Levy and Edgar Levy were also deported and murdered.
The Ahrensburg physician Dr. Hugo Rath faced a campaign because of his Jewish wife. People were told to boycott his practice. His wife Veronika took her own life in 1938. She was a known benefactor.
Gertrud Eickhorst was arrested in 1939 for behaving conspicuously. Her husband secured her release by promising to move to Hamburg. Her pharmacy was forcibly sold.
In November 2003, Jewish citizens from Russia and Ukraine founded a new Jewish community in Ahrensburg. However the Jüdischer Friedhof Ahrensburg was closed. Burials now take place in Bad Segeberg.
A Stolperstein was placed for Magnus Lehmann in 2009. More were added in 2016 for the Rath family. A memorial plaque was installed in 2013 listing Shoah victims.
The Jüdischer Friedhof Ahrensburg stands as a reminder of Ahrensburg’s past Jewish life. The last burial took place here in 1923. In 1994, a memorial was erected on the 850 square meter site. Today it serves as a place of memory and reflection. It reminds us of the importance of tolerance and remembrance.