Vandal shame old Jewish cemetery in Dresden - who is behind it?

Vandal shame old Jewish cemetery in Dresden - who is behind it?

On Monday evening, March 11, 2025, the walls of the old Jewish cemetery in Dresden, which is located on Pulsnitzer Strasse, were sarmed. Two unknowns defaced the cemetery with an approximately five meter wide lettering. A passerby noticed the crime shortly before midnight and immediately informed the police. However, when the emergency services arrived, the perpetrators were already fleeting. So far, neither information about the property damage incurred has been presented, nor are witnesses known that could provide additional details about the crime. The old Jewish cemetery is the oldest preserved Jewish cemetery in Saxony, the foundation of which declines to 1751, which is why this desecration is particularly worrying.

The historical cemetery, which extends on an area of ​​3,500 square meters, is located north of Bautzner Straße and is being carried out by the Hatikva e. V. supervised on a voluntary basis. With his opening on March 19, 1751, he was an important place for the Jewish community in Dresden. At the time of the foundation, the funeral for Jewish people in Saxony was difficult because, due to discriminatory regulations, it was prohibited from burying their dead in the country. After the opening of the new Jewish cemetery in Johannstadt in 1869, the old Jewish cemetery was closed.

monument protection and historical importance

The old Jewish cemetery is not only an important cultural monument, but also houses the resting places of various prominent personalities, including members of the influential bankier family Kaskel and other important citizens who shaped the Jewish life in the city.

The stone coffins attached to the graves, of which around 800 still readable inscriptions have, are mostly made of sandstone. They are stelen -like and all show the font to east, towards Jerusalem. This tradition is an important part of Jewish burial culture.

After a long period of expiry during the GDR period, the cemetery, which harbors a variety of graves and relics of Jewish history, received the status of a monument and from the 1980s by the commitment of the atones of peace services. Nowadays the Hatikva e. V. for the fact that the graves and the infrastructure of the cemetery are preserved.

A call to protect Jewish sites

The recent events impressively show how vulnerable and in need of protection such sites of the cultural heritage can be. It is of central importance not only to preserve the material substance of this cemeteries, but also to promote awareness of its cultural and historical depth. The old Jewish cemetery in Dresden is a place of commemoration and has a long past witnesses to protect the heir.

The Jewish Cemetery Working Group in Saxony is actively committed to the preservation and documentation of these important cultural sites and contributes to the fact that the Jewish cemeteries are not forgotten. Against this background, the desecration of the old Jewish cemetery is perceived particularly painfully, since such acts not only attack the physical space, but also the intellectual and cultural heritage of the Jewish community in Saxony.