Individual Grave

The Ottensen Mausoleum is a private mausoleum in the Ottensen district of Lindhorst. The mausoleum was built in 1952 by the Jewish brickworks owner Oskar Philippsohn, a survivor of Theresienstadt, near his home for himself and his family using bricks from his own production. His Protestant wife Karoline Philippsohn, née Wenthe, was buried here in 1960, and her brother Wilhelm Wenthe in 1963. In 1964, the brickworks, which Oskar Philippsohn's grandson had taken over, went bankrupt. In addition to other property, the house with the mausoleum on the property had to be sold.

He was born on October 2, 1894. Otto was a well-known and popular Jewish doctor in Hanau. His practice was located at Hammerstraße 6. If someone was not in a financial position to pay for treatment, Otto Schwabe waived payment. He even made house calls, which was very unusual at that time, but was gratefully accepted. At Christmas he even gave presents to his poorer patients. It was more important to him to help people than to earn money. His family belonged to one of the older Jewish families of Hanau. The family name first appeared in 1689 under "Haus Zum Schwaben".

Isidor Berberich was born on June 19, 1893. He is also counted among the patriotic Jews. He fought for Germany in World War I and was killed near Bertrix on August 22, 1944. His parents had a cenotaph made for him at the family grave. In the former synagogue, which was unfortunately destroyed, hung a memorial plaque for the Jewish Hanau soldiers who died in the First World War. Isidor Berberich's name was also on this plaque. In Bertrix there is a memorial for the fallen French and German soldiers, among whom was Isidor.

In addition, members of the Oppenheim family were also buried there. Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, who was born but not buried in Hanau was very important for the Jewish community. The Oppenheim family was very well known in Hanau because of him. 

With the Enlightenment and the Revolution of 1848/1849, the Jews adapted more and more to society. At first there were gravestones inscribed with Hebrew from the front and Latin letters from the back. Eventually the old traditions were forgotten. Now the tombstones were inscribed only in Latin letters and the deceased wanted to write things, such as their professional position of which they were proud, on the tombstone, which was previously frowned upon and unthinkable. However, society also became more open to Jewish patriots.

In April, the French soldiers entrenched near Hanau. While digging, they destroyed graves and even partially threw the bones on the path that led to the cemetery. Again, the community intervened to prevent worse and asked forgiveness from the deceased. They received permission to move the bones to another location in the cemetery. Since a cohen (priestly family) was not allowed to walk over graves, but the soldiers had already thrown the bones on the path, this path had to be paved. This venerable behavior shows how important the Jewish cemetery must be for the Jews in their faith.