Commemoration of Jewish soldiers: Würzburg's Ehrenhain shines again

Commemoration of Jewish soldiers: Würzburg's Ehrenhain shines again

On Remembrance Day in Würzburg, not only the general victims of war and violence are remembered, but also the Jewish soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War. For 100 years, there has been a memorial in the Jewish cemetery in Lengfeld that commemorates the brave men who fought “for the fatherland”. This moving honor was first mentioned in the local press on September 21, 1924, when the “Fränkisches Volksblatt” reported on the ceremonial handover of the honorary grave.

Almost 100,000 Jewish men registered for military service, including 400 from the Jewish community of Würzburg. The names of 43 fallen soldiers who died in the war between 1914 and 1916 are immortalized on two large plaques in the memorial grove. Among them is Max Ruschkewitz, who died in 1930 after being seriously injured. The Jewish soldiers were recognized in the German military, with over 20,000 promotions and 30,000 awards. It is tragic that of the 12,000 Jewish soldiers who died, many must not be forgotten.

Commemoration with prominent participation

The commemoration on Remembrance Day will be led by Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. A Bundeswehr officer and Mayor Christian Schuchardt will also be present to lay wreaths and remember the fallen soldiers. Students from the David-Schuster Realschule will also read out the names of 50 other victims from the Jewish community who were deported and murdered between 1941 and 1944. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m., followed by a tour at 2 p.m.

The Jewish cemetery in Würzburg is not only a place of remembrance, but also a living testimony to Jewish history. Here the memory of the victims of National Socialism is kept alive while the city society fights against forgetting. In times of increasing anti-Semitic prejudice, the revival of such memorial sites is of immense importance.