Weißensee Cemetery

Jewish Cemetery Berlin-Weißensee Angela M. Arnold (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Tombs and mausoleums. Anagoria (Creative Commons)

The Holocaust Memorial at the entrance of the Weißensee Cemetery. Gertrud K. (Creative Commons)

Asch Family grave. Anagoria (Creative Commons)

Borchardt Family grave. Z thomas (Creative Commons)

Alfred Cohn Family tomb. Z thomas (Creative Commons)

Straßmann Family grave. Z thomas (Creative Commons)

A mausoleum in Weißensee Cemetery. Anagoria (Creative Commons)

Ornate tomb in disrepair. Z thomas (Creative Commons)

Mecklenburg Family mausoleum. Z thomas (Creative Commons)

Salinger-Daniel Family grave. Z thomas (Creative Commons)

Graves and mausoleums. Anagoria (Creative Commons)

Grave of Rosalie and Dr. Adolf Ernst. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosalie_Ernst2-Mutter_Erde_fec.jpg (Creative Commons)

Family graves of Dr. J. Lewinsohn and C. L. Netter. Z thomas (Creative Commons)

Grave of Herbert Baum. OTFW, Berlin (Creative Commons)

Monument to the Jewish German soldiers of World War I. Bodo Kubrak (Creative Commons)

Halls of the Administration Building at Weißensee Cemetery. Gertrud K. (Creative Commons)

Administration Building at Weißensee Cemetery. Gertrud K. (Creative Commons)

The Holocaust Memorial at the entrance of the Weißensee Cemetery. OTFW, Berlin (Creative Commons)

The Holocaust Memorial at the entrance of the Weißensee Cemetery. Anagoria (Creative Commons)

A tree grows from the grave of Hermann Baum. Anagoria (Creative Commons)

Fischer Family grave. Z thomas (Creative Commons)

Lanes between graves at Weißensee Cemetery. Angela M. Arnold, Berlin (Creative Commons)

Grave of Rosalie and Dr. Adolf Ernst. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosalie_Ernst2-Mutter_Erde_fec.jpg (Creative Commons)

The Jüdischer Friedhof Berlin-Weißensee, or just Weißensee Cemetery, lies behind tall walls near the heart of Berlin. Opened in 1880 and covering about 42 hectare of land it is Europe’s largest Jewish cemetery by area, containing almost 116.000 graves. Inside the walls of this heritage site it feels like a different place and time. The old graves and monuments are being overtaken by plants, birds are singing, and nothing is to be heard of the city life.

Despite the tranquil surroundings, upon closer inspection the gravestones also paint a harrowing picture of a horrible time in human history. Facing the pogrom, many Jewish citizens of Berlin took their own life between 1933 and 1945. A total of 1907 of them are buried here.

In stark contrast to many other Jewish cemeteries, this one was never defiled during the Second World War and only suffered damages from bombings between 1943 and 1945. Why exactly the Nazis spared this landmark of Jewish history isn’t fully resolved. While the sheer size might have played a part, contemporary witnesses also suggested something entirely different: superstition.

According to this theory, the Nazis believed in a Golem living in the cemetery and defending it against attackers. Rumours about “something not quite right” with the place made the rounds, ensuring that no military or police entered the cemetery during the Nazi regime.

Know Before You Go

The cemetery is easily reached by public transport via stop Albertinenstraße, from where it is just a short walk. The main entrance can be found at the end of Herbert-Baum-Straße.

Male visitors have to cover their heads, kippahs can be borrowed at the entrance for the duration of the visit.

Entrance to the cemetery is free, but large groups and tours are required to pay 1 Euro per person. Donations for the preservation of the cemetery are encouraged.

cemeteries