51°45′18″N 8°02′25″E, Beckum is a town in the district of Warendorf 20 km NE of Hamm and 35 km SE of Münster. Birthplace of Uri Avnery, born in 1923, later an Israeli Knesset member.
ShtetLink: The Jewish community existed since the 17th century until 1942 and the Nazis. The first Jewish settlement was 1343 and lasted until the Plague. Largest population was 111 in 1925. Full Jewish history and information about the community and photos of cemetery. [Sep 2012]
Beckum
Title: Geschichte und Schicksal der Juden zu Beckum
Author: Hugo Krick
Publication date: 1987
No. of pages: 160
Publisher: Kreis-Geschichtsverein Beckum-Warendorf e.V.
Available at: Leo Baeck Institute
Kehila Links page: former Jewish community of Beckum
- CEMETERY: 59269 North Rhine-Westphalia (Gerz)
- An der Werse.
- Beckum, Kreis Warendorf at the East Wall, Jews Wall, Parking "Osttorknoten". First mention 1690 with the oldest grave stone dated 1758 and last burial 1937 or 1938. 73 gravestones are visible. In the Kristallnacht pogrom, the cemetery was vandalized with many gravestones broken. Krick suspects in Beckum in 1986 that a few gravestones are buried in the soil/old city walls. The Jewish cemetery on East Wall was first documented in 1690. A part of the medieval fortifications, the former double ramparts, were used for burials. 1886 to 1893 the burial ground was expanded through land purchases. As of 8 July 1985, the Jewish cemetery was landmarked. [Sept 2012]
- Approximately 1975 - 2000 by Heritage Office (Photos)
- 1985 by Magnus - Gymnasium (transcripts, map)
- 2001 by Mike Redel (transcript: German inscriptions)
PUBLICATIONS:
- History in Smieszchala: 1985 , pp. 27 -30.
- History in Beckum 1986 S. 70 - 76
- History in Westphalia-Lippe 1987 , page 140
- Historyî in Beckum, 1991 , p.7
- History in Handbook 2008 , pp. 181f - Hier ruhen in Gottes seligem Schutz.- Der juedische Friedhof in Beckum by Herbert Lukas, published in Beckum, November 1988. 162 pages. Source: Zeev Raphael, Haifa, Israel.