Mirror of Jewish life

Offenbach's first Jewish cemetery was located on today's Bismarckstraße from 1708 to 1860. Despite massive protests from the community, it was closed as it stood in the way of the planned railroad line. The Jewish community was given a replacement site on the edge of the new (now old) cemetery, where the dead were buried from 1861 until the early 1980s. Offenbach's four honorary Jewish citizens also found their final resting place there: Dr. Salomon Formstecher (1808-1889), the "first modern historian of Judaism", Ludo Mayer (1845-1917, see memorial article), the lawyer and art patron Dr. Siegfried Guggenheim (1873-1961) and Max Willner (1906-1994), Vice-Chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. The last gravestones from Bismarckstraße came to the Old Cemetery at the end of the 1930s, either damaged or difficult to read. Piled up into two pyramids, they now mark the entrance to the Jewish section.

There has been a Jewish burial ground in the New Cemetery since the early 1980s. Most of the gravestones show the Star of David at the top and five Hebrew letters at the bottom symbolize the statement: "May their soul be bound in the covenant of eternal life." Because of the immortality of the soul, Jews traditionally do not decorate the graves with flowers, which symbolize transience - instead, they place small stones on the graves. When a Jew dies, he is buried in a simple wooden box after the ritual washing; there are no grave goods. Because of the belief in resurrection, cremation is forbidden. Around 5-10% of Jews in the Rhine-Main region are buried in Israel.

The Jewish field in the extension section of the Bürgel cemetery has been used since 2009. In Bürgel, burials took place on the "Judentotenacker" near the Schultheisweiher pond as early as the 17th century. From 1821, the cemetery was extended several times and surrounded by a wall. After the incorporation, burials took place there until 1938. Today, 91 gravestones can still be seen, but the vast majority of the area has been leveled and was probably destroyed during the Second World War.

The following applies to all Jewish cemeteries: the grounds may not be entered during Shabbat (Saturdays) and on public holidays. Notices indicate the dates.