I borrowed one of Florian's bikes to go to the Jewish Cemetery Weissensee about 40 minutes from central Berlin. It's Europe's largest intact Jewish burial grounds, with more than 115,000 graves. A memorial at the entrance, dedicated in 1992, explicitly acknowledges the Holocaust.
The Jewish star makes an interesting design motif in the furniture and the windows.
A gatekeeper asked me to don a yarmulke.
Many Jewish members of Berlin's 19th and early 20th century bourgeoisie were laid to rest at Weissensee. Most of the graves have fallen into disrepair because the Nazis killed 55,000 Jews in Berlin alone, eliminating the families who might have tended them for generations as new members were added. It's truly a ghost town aside from the occasional groundsman.
But even in a neglected cemetery, there's a right side of the tracks.
Walk inside and look up.
One well-tended section commemorates Jewish soldiers who fought for Germany in World War I.
The variety and intricacy of the stone carving and iron work astonishes and probably reflects the piety, aesthetics, egos and wealth of the individuals buried.
Very little mosaic work survives unless it decorated an area out of hands' reach.
This fellow must have been an optometrist.
Some graves didn't suffer as much damage. Perhaps Justin has a PR opportunity here.
I didn't understand the significance of these.
Many of the largest mausoleums use blue glass which casts an eerie light.
Recent burials in one section of the cemetery suggest a resurrection of Jewish life in Berlin.
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