50°58′N 6°39′E, 307.7 miles WSW of Berlin. City 20 km west of Cologne and the capital of the Rhein-Erft-Kreis. Bergheim, Bergheim an der Erft. The city's Niederaußem district is one of the most important suppliers for energy from lignites in Europe.
The Jewish community that existed in Bergheim in the early Middle Ages was destroyed during the 1349 Jewish pogrom. In the early modern era , Bergheim again had Jewish citizens since 1637 with a synagogue and one cemetery outside the city walls. Therefore, the old cemetery on the Knüchelsdamm existed until about 1862. In its place came the new cemetery on the Bethlehem road. The last burial took place here in 1933. Although the cemetery had to be sold in 1940 to the city of Bergheim eventually the Nazis were defeated. Jewish community history.
50126 North Rhine-Westphalia (Gerz)
- Bethlehemerstrasse:. New cemetery begun 1861/62. Use continued uninterrupted until 1921 when the town wanted to close the cemetery because they wanted the unused land. No burials after 1837, but there are several memorial stones for those lost in the Holocaust. Also stone from old cemetery listed here and some unreadable ones left. Booklet includes a layout plan of the cemetery. Location: 51d00m N 6d34m E. [Sep 2012]
- Knuechelsdamm : Old cemetery. First mention of it is found in 1804, but it was probably used in the 1700s. There was one death in 1669 (??). Starting in 1927, the town wanted to buy the land for housing; this was finally done in 1942. As late as just before WWII there appeared to be 15 stones remaining. Three stones were brought to the new cemetery in Bethlehemerstrasse in 1950. In 1980, 7 stones were found during land clearing. Further clearing showed an additional 80 or so stones. Some sources say 52. Also see Elsdorf, Niederaussem and Paffendorf. Bergheim data from the booklet "Rheinische Friehoefe, Die juedischen Friedhoefe", by Gert Friedt and Manfred Backhausen includes some pictures. The cemetery is located corner of Bethlehem Str. / Schützenstr. behind a high brick wall. The gate is locked with a chain. The cemetery was landmarked on 14 July 1989 . photos. The cemetery is closed to the public, but city tours enter. Andermahr Heinz, Heinz Braschoss, Helmut Schrön, Ralph Jansen: Bergheimer city guide. city Bergheim (ed.), Bergheim, 2009, ISBN 978-3-9801975-8-8 [Sep 2012]
BERGHEIM: Niederrhein
See Niederrhein in General Section:
PUBLICATIONS:
- Dokumentation zur Geschichte der Juden.. Alphabetical list of names + birth date and place. 50 persons, 1794-1924. Source: Tagger, Mathilde A. Printed Books on Jewish cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: an annotated bibliography. Jerusalem: The Israel Genealogical Society, 1997.
- Friedt, Gerd; Backhausen, Manfred: "Die juedischen Friedhoefe in Bergheim, Bergheim-Niederaussem und Bergheim-Pfaffendorf".-In: Mitteilungen der West- deutschen Gesellschaft fuer Familienkunde, Sonder- heft (1992), S. 41-57. Source: AE [sic]