International Jewish Cemetery Project
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Coat of arms of Bochum 51°29' N, 07°13' E, in the Ruhr area, 40 miles NNE of Köln (Cologne), between Essen and Dortmund. This city  is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen. On November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht, the Jewish citizens of Bochum were attacked. The synagogue was set on fire with rioting against Jewish citizens. The first Jews from Bochum were deported to Nazi concentration camps with many Jewish institutions and homes destroyed. About 500 Jewish citizens (by name) were killed in the Holocaust, including nineteen younger than 16 years old. Wikipedia. [Sep 2012]

44789 North Rhine-Westphalia Wattenscheid, Stiepel (Gerz)

  • Ort Wattenscheid: CEMETERY: Located Bochum Street, formerly Wattenscheider Heath. Used 17-19th century. 1652 documentation mentionscemetery. Definitely acquired 1862/63, reduced in size 1899. Visible gravestones: 22. The Nazis destroyed this, among the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the Ruhr area. After WWII, of the gravestones, only a few could be identified. [Sep 2012]
    - ca 1975-2000 by Heritage Office (Photos)
    - History in Wilbertz 1987, pp. 26-30
    - History in Westphalia-Lippe 1987, p.27
PUBLICATIONS:
  • Jüdische Friedhoefe im heutigen Bochumer Stadtgebiet by Gisela Wilbertz. Includes Bochum, Wattenscheid & Stiepel. Bochum: Brockmeyer 1988, 45 pp. [reprinted from: Der Maerker 36 (1987; DIE DEUTSCHE NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHIE] (in process)
  • Article on cemetery; Addenda: Booklet about Jewish cemeteries in Bochum (1988; Donors: Emilie Schoenwald, 1958.Source at Leo Baeck Institute; Jewish community collection; Storage-Location: Second floor; Accession Number(s): AR 344.
  • Germany, Bochum,"Spujournal, review n im Stein", 3249, book, 12/5/1997, "Keller, Manfred, Wilbertz, Gisela", title: Ein Bochumer Friedhof als Spiegel Jüdischer Geschichte, Evangebooksche Stadtakademie Bochum, Klarticletext Verlag Essen, 1997, 376 p.,German, 3-88474-522-0. Source: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.about books among the collection at the Jewish Museum of Belgium.

ADDED Sept 2012:

  • Buddenbergtor Road Cemetery:

Address: Mass mountain road before Buddenbergtor on the road to Witten called Buddenberg road today. Used 17/18th century - 1821, mentioned in 1722 documents. No gravestones. In 1879 the synagogue sold the land and transferred burials to the cemetery Bochum New Cemetery. In the course of closing down in 1954, after Bochum (waterway). Of the many old gravestones, only two are at Wilbertz.
- History in Wilbertz 1987 , pp. 3-15, 23

- History in Bochum, 1997 , pp. 42 - 44

  • Old Cemetery: at the foot of Lohberges near the old Christian cemetery, Friedhofstrasse. Used 1822 - 1884, closed in 1954 No gravestones.The Nazis vandalized the cemetery. In 1954, 52 gravestones were moved to the Waterway site.

- History in Wilbertz 1987 , pp. 9-17, 24
- History in Bochum, 1997 , pp. 45 - 47

  • New Cemetery:

Jüdischer Friedhof Bochumer Straße, Used 1884 - 1918, closed in 1954. no gravestones. The Nazis vandalized the cemetery. Wilbertz suspects the loss of approximately one-third of the former gravestones. In 1954, the gravestones and burials were moved to the Waterway Cemetery.

After the war, they forced former Nazi leaders to clear the cemetery grounds by hand. Of the remote in the Nazi era 21 grave stones were seized as a mason and subsequently placed on the reconstructed cemetery again. A 22nd Grave stone was made retrospectively. 1972 by the City Wattenscheid a memorial stone in the cemetery was established.
- History in Wilbertz 1987 , pp. 10 - 20, 25, 27
- History in Bochum, 1997 , pp. 46 - 47

  • Wasserstrasse Cemetery: Address: Wiemelhausen, Wasserstrasse (municipal cemetery. Used from 1917 during an expansion of the existing municipal cemetery in Wiemelhausen. First burial was 1918. Used 1918 - 1934, 1945 to date. 503+ gravestones. Between 1944-45, 52 victims of a camp of Buchenwald were buried here as work prisoners at Bochum Association, an armaments factory. The gravestones were erected for them (V, in 2 rows) in 1965. In 1954, during the application of the new railway station, the two Jewish cemeteries along the cemetery road / street Witten had to be abandoned, the graves and gravestones were moved to the waterway. The burial site also houses relics of the two cemeteries and numerous gravestones in the cemetery road from Old Cemetery and New Cemetery. According Wilbertz 52 gravestones from the Old cemetery but 32 gravestones from the New cemetery survived but were not moved. At the cemetery include 52 victims from the concentration camp buried in Bochum Association and two urns of concentration camp victims of Dachau and Oranienburg. In 1965, the City of Bochum, in consultation with the Jewish community made symbolic gravestones (complete with names, dates, and the Star of David). In the memorial hall is a memorial plaque for Bochum Rabbi Dr. David Moritz, 1901 to 1936. 2011: the city of Bochum Jewish community set aside new land in the main cemetery for future burials (Jewish General dated 23.6.2011, p 11). photos. photo. [Sep 2012]
  • - Approximately 1975 - 2000 by Heritage Office (Photos)
  • - 1986 - 1997 by Working Group Bochum (full documentation)
  • - 2002 by Mike Redel (transcripts, older part)

- History in Wilbertz 1987 , pp. 17 - 25, 26
- History in Westphalia-Lippe 1987 , p.27
- Full documentation in Bochum 1997, pp. 47, 49, 54 - 70, 74 - 254

Jewish community of Bochum-Herne-Hattingen to get a new cemetery because the land along the waterway is now fully occupied. As a location, the city has a 15,000 square meter area in the eastern part of the main cemetery in view. [Sep 2012]