SCHMIEHEIM: Baden-Württemberg : contact Kippenheim 77971 (Gerz)
JewishGen KehilaLink created by Peter A. Dreifuss [March 2012]
"Until the Nazis came to power a good many Jewish communites existed south of Offenburg. The former synagogue in Kippenheim and a Jewish graveyard in Schmieheim recall part of the rich Jewish heritage. Built in 1850-51 the Kippenheim synagogue served the local congregation until its desecration in November 1938. Thereafter the building was principally used for storage. From 1986 to 1989 its exterior was faithfully restored to its original conditions; what remains of its beautiful former interior is being preserved. The Jewish cemetery in Schmieheim was established in the 17th century southwest of the town on the road to Wallburg. The graveyard also served Jewish communities in Altdorf, Ettenheim, Friesenheim, Kippenheim, Lahr, Nonnenweiler, Orschweier and Rust. Extensive remedial work has restored the cemetery. Relics of its building, ruined in 1938, can still be found in the graveyard. Until the 19th century Schmieheim had more than 500 Jewish inhabitants and a rabbi. He moved the rabbinate to Offenburg in 1893. The former synagogue in Schmieheim is now an apartment house." [Source, March 2012]
*Translation: "1682 on the initiative of the Jewish community Ettenheim created a cemetery in Schmieheim. The oldest grave stone dates from 1701 (for "Hindel wife, daughter of Shmuel ..., buried on Thursday the 26th of Elul (5) 461 = 29.9.1701). / Since then, the dead of the Jewish communities Altdorf , Ettenheim , Friesenheim , Kippenheim, Lahr, Nonnenweier, Orschweier and Rust were buried (the largest association cemetery in southern Baden: area 140.04 a; Location: on the road to Wallburg at the junction Altdorf). In the cemetery is a war memorial for the fallen of World War I (restored 1998). The cemetery hall from which the remains were brought into the cemetery was burned at the November 1938 pogrom. / A contribution from the community Kippenheim, the presentation of the Memory-book by Naftali Bar-Giora Bamberger, to the Jewish cemetery in Schmieheim (see References): belonging, "Today the community Kippenheim, was the cemetery Schmieheim an association cemetery for the Jewish communities of Altdorf, Ettenheim, Friesenheim , Kippenheim, Nonnenweier, Rust and Schmieheim and thus the largest Jewish cemetery in southern Baden. In 1888 the newly founded community Lahr joined. Documented are burials after 1703, Jewish communities, especially those of Schmieheim, are mentioned from 1624. Around the mid-18th century, it was repeatedly ravaged as a war zone and kept by the individual municipalities. Burial records are lost. The Nazi desecrated cemetery survived the years of the Third Reich as a closed area due to a dispute between the district municipalities of Schmieheim and Wallenburg, who could not agree on a division. The last known burial was March 19, 1941 -- Henriette Maier. Major repairs were carried out in 1945 and 1956/57. Grounds of approx. 143 Ar. August 1998 census in the cemetery are the following burials: 2950 persons, of whom 459 are without gravestone. Of the 2491 burial sites not identified are 43 non-naturally contain the most impressive number of people buried in the earlier period of the cemetery.. . " [sic] [Source, March 2012]
The village of Schmieheim is next to the village of Altdorf, both of which are north of Freiburg by about 15 miles, and just south of the village of Kippenheim (which restored its synagogue in the last 10 years).
For a walking tour (in German) with descriptions Jewish sites in Schmieheim, including the cemetery, former synagogue, bakery, mikvah, school, and other sites, as well as a map, see here. [page dated October 1999, viewed October 2007]
Some pictures of the cemetery [October 2007]
The Kippenheim Syngagoue Patrons Society has information in English about the former synagogue and the cemetery. For information in German, contact Kippenheim Synagogue Patrons Society
c/o Renate Kreplin
Schlossstrasse 2
D-77971 Kippenheim, Germany
phone 0049-7825-86522, fax 0049-7825-864038
Contact in English: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 0049-07822-3814, [Web page undated, viewed October 2007]
- BOOK: Der jüdische Friedof in Schmieheim. Rabbiner, Vorsteher, Beschneider und Angehörige in Maajan 11 (1997)S. 1050-1053. Cemetery inscriptions of the Jewish cemetery in Schmieheim; in French, German. Donor: Renate Liessem-Breinlinger; Location at Leo Baeck Institute : Wertheimer, Jules family; Schmieheim: Storage-location: A 26/2; Accession Number(s): AR 5344.
- BOOK: Grabinschriften der Familie Wertheimer von Nonnenweier auf dem Judenfriedhof von Schmieheim by Günter Boll (1990 or before).
- BOOK: Der Jüdische Friedhof in Schmieheim by Naftali Bar Giora Bamberger, a 2-volume work of more than 1000 pages. It includes photographs and translations of each tombstone in the cemetery.
- BOOK: Schicksal und Geschichte der juedischen Gemeinden: Ettenheim, Altdorf, Kippenheim, Schmieheim, Rust, Orschweier; ein Gedenkbuch
Author: Bernhard Uttenweiler et al
Publication Date: 1988
No. of Pages: 456
Publisher: Historischer Verein fuer Mittelbaden e.v. - Mitgleidergruppe Ettenheim
Available at: Leo Baeck Institute - BOOK: Der juedische Friedhof in Schmieheim
Author: Naftali Bar-Giora Bamberger
Publication Date: 1999
No. of pages: 550
Comments: over 2,500 tombstone photos and inscriptions dating back to 1701 for Altdorf's regional cemetery in Schmieheim; available at Leo Baeck Institute -
To see information and photographs of individual gravestones in cemeteries in Baden-Wuerttemberg, click on this link and follow the directions on that page.