Former Jewish cemetery (Brandenburg an der Havel)

Just by the entrance gate today there are several memorial plaques. The inscription on the central memorial plaque reads: "From the depths I call you Eternal! (also in Hebrew above); Dedicated to our murdered brothers and sisters". On both sides next to it are listed the names of Jewish community members of Brandenburg, mostly with dates of birth, who perished as a result of the Holocaust. The names of people buried in the original cemetery and their dates of death are also inscribed on plaques on the brick wall. Today, on the approximately 2800 square meters of this site, apart from the main path leading to the eastern wall, there is only lawn and no more graves.

On the first of January 1945  the cemetery became the property of Brennabor-Werke, which wanted to build a sports field on the site. However, this never came to pass. After the end of the Second World War, some of the former parishioners demanded the reconstruction of the cemetery from the city administration, which then passed the resolution to rebuild the cemetery in 1948.

Although the Jewish cemetery was severely damaged by Allied bombing, it was not until it was converted into a memorial that it was destroyed and desecrated, as it was leveled and the gravestones removed. On the other hand, the memorial commemorates both the Jewish victims of National Socialism in Brandenburg an der Havel and the community members previously buried there. Thus, this place was incorporated into the culture of remembrance of the early GDR.

Today, members of the Brandenburg Jewish community are buried in part of the cemetery in the Hohenstücken district.