The Jewish cemetery part-2
The last funeral took place during the Third Reich. In 1962 the municipality of Laufersweiler had the newer part of the cemetery enclosed with a beech hedge, while the larger and older part was leveled and then sold. The few remaining tombstones of the old cemetery were moved to the new part and put up again there. Of the 10 Jewish cemeteries that still exist in the Rhein-Hunsrück district, the one in Laufersweiler is the smallest with an area of 640 square meters. The chronicle reports the following about the course of the Jewish burial: “After a death, money was collected within the synagogue community. Women did not go to the cemetery with them. The Christian neighborhood also attended the funeral. A white towel hung on every Jewish house, there was a bucket of water and a ladle to wash your hands. There were no flowers, wreaths etc., only a stone was placed on the tombstone as a sign and greeting for the relatives ”. Descendants of former Jewish citizens from Laufersweiler, who themselves or their ancestors were able to leave Germany in time and found a new home in Argentina, USA or Israel, are now looking for contact with the former home of their parents and grandparents and are tracing the roots of their origins. The Jewish cemetery is not only a place of remembrance for family members, relatives and close friends of the deceased, but also offers other visitors the opportunity to gain access to Jewish history and religion in addition to the synagogue. Source: Concept, design, text: Hans-Werner Johann