Resting place

On Tuesday, my friend Rebecca and I went to visit the Jewish Cemetery Schönhauser Allee. I had passed in front of it many times before, but it was always closed. I thought that visiting it might not be allowed, but after a bit of research, I found out that it was open to the public and I planned a trip to go and visit it. This cemetery is Berlin's second Jewish cemetery. It was created in 1827, but it was only on June 29th, 1829 that the first person was buried there. You can still find Sara Meyer's grave among the 25 000 other graves that are also there. Her headstone is engraved with the number 1. It is a very impressive cemetery. One thing that struck me as I was wondering among the headstones was how many of them were broken, had fallen from their pedestals or were half buried in the ground. This cemetery, like many others in the city, suffered great amount of damage during the many wars that took place over time in Berlin, but was especially destroyed by the Second World War. Some of the headstones were actually used as building material during the war. Many headstones were moved away from their graves, and because it was impossible to place them back in the correct place, a Lapidary was created, so that the headstones could be kept and a part of the departed still remembered. The Lapidary also acts as an information center. The many different symbols found of the headstones are explained, the Hebrew writings are translated and the history of the cemetery is explained.
It was worth the visit.

Men who visit this cemetery have to keep their heads covered by wearing one of the kippot (plural of kippah) that are provided (for a small donation)




The Lapidary

The first grave of this cemetery. It belongs to Sara Meyer who was burried on June 29th, 1829.


It is tradition to put stones on top of the headstone of someone's grave, to make it easier to recognize it.