Ohlsdorf Jewish Cemetery - Monument to the murdered Jews from Hamburg

The Ohlsdorf Jewish Cemetery was established in 1883. Gravestones were transferred to Ohlsdorf from the cemeteries in Ottensen and Grindel when they were closed in 1934 and 1937, respectively. The Jewish cemetery is separated from the municipal Ohlsdorf Cemetery to the north by Ilandkoppel Street.

Jewish cemetery during and after the Nazi period
The Jewish cemetery was closed in 1943, and makeshift housing for families who had been bombed out of their homes was built on the site by order of the National Socialists. However, these makeshift houses were soon destroyed by bombs as well. After 1945, the Ohlsdorf Jewish Cemetery was the only one in Hamburg to be used for its intended purpose again, namely, the burial of Jews who had died. In 1951, a memorial stone with an inscription in German and Hebrew was dedicated to the Jewish victims of National Socialism. An urn containing the ashes of prisoners from Auschwitz was placed in front of it in 1957.

Jewish soldiers’ cemetery
A burial ground for Jewish soldiers from Hamburg who were killed in World War I lies to the left just before the cemetery exit. There is an obelisk in the centre of the memorial complex. Tall steles around the edges of the complex bear the names of the 457 Jewish soldiers from Hamburg who fell in World War I. The bodies of 85 of these soldiers were returned to Hamburg and interred here.