Old Harburg Jewish Cemetery
A Jewish burial ground has existed in Harburg since the 17th century. The Harburg Jewish Cemetery was the burial site for the Harburg-Wilhelmsburg synagogue congregation and was used by the Jewish communities in Harburg, Winsen/Luhe, Tostedt and Lüneburg. 239 gravestones have been preserved in the cemetery grounds, which cover about two hectares. In 1813, the cemetery was heavily damaged by French soldiers digging trenches and had to be laid out anew. A house of the dead was built in 1857 and a prayer room was added in 1900. In 1921, the Jewish community erected a monument at the entrance in memory of the Jewish soldiers from Harburg who were killed in World War I.
The last burial in the Harburg Jewish Cemetery took place in 1935. Both the cemetery and the synagogue were desecrated on 10 November 1938 in the wake of the pogroms throughout the Reich, and the house of the dead was destroyed by arson and finally torn down in 1939. In 1943, the cemetery was forcibly taken over by the city of Hamburg. The Harburg district office placed a plaque on the site of the house of the dead in 1992 in memory of these events.
The Helms Museum offers tours through the old Harburg Jewish Cemetery.