Martin Buber House

The house on the corner of Werlestraße/Graben in Heppenheim was built at the end of the 19th century . In 1916, the religious philosopher Martin Buber moved into it with his wife Paula, née Winkler, and their two children, Rafael (born 1900) and Eva (born 1901). The family lived here for four years as tenants before Buber purchased the house with its large walled garden. It housed, among other things, the philosopher's extensive library, in which works such as I and Thou" and the first part of his Bibleütranslation were produced. From Heppenheim Buber traveled regularly to Frankfurt to teach at the Free Jewish Teaching House and at the University.

Due to Nazi persecution, the Buber family emigrated to Palestine in the spring of 1938. During the November pogrom in the same year, the house was vandalized and parts of the library destroyed.

Because Buber was not able to settle the bill for the vandalism, the house was eventually maintained.

In the 1970s, two Heppenheim Bürger*innen prevented the planned demolition of the building. Instead the Hesse state government placed the building under monument protection in 1976. In 1979, the International Council of Christians and Jews moved its headquarters from London to Heppenheim to the Martin Buber House. The Council is the umbrella organization of 38 national Christian-Jewish and interreligious dialogue associations worldwide and advocates the historical renewal of Jewish-Christian relations.