48°29′36″N 8°01′19″E DURBACH is a municipality in Ortenau district on the edge of the northern Black Forest Mountains, six km NE of Offenburg. Wine and tourism are the mainstay, particularly Riesling wine (Klingelberger grape from vineyard in Durbach.) Schloss Staufenberg, a castle owned by the Markgraf von Baden and Skulpturenpark, an exhibition of contemporary sculptures in the park of the MediClin Staufenburg Klinik, are tourist attractions.. A Jewish Community in Durbach existed since the beginning of the 17th century until its dissolution on February 1900. After 1700, the Jewish community had a synagogue, a school, and a mikvah. Cemetery was built in 1813. In 1827 the, rabbinate was allocated. The Jewish inhabitants were mainly traders, butchers and bakers. There was a Zionist school. Jewish population:
| 1801 | 106 people |
| 1825 | 38 people |
| 1875 | 21 people |
| 1900 | 10 people |
| 1933 | 8 people |
Extensive Jewish history. [Feb 2013]
77770 Baden-Württemberg
SOURCE: Gerz.
DISTRICT: Ortenaukreis.
LOCATION OF CEMETERY: Between Klingelbergerstrasse 2 and 4.
IN USE:
From 1813 until 1917. Last burial 1917 (Jakob Bodenheimer). The oldest gravestone, dated 1848, is decorated with columns and a decorative ornamentation.
NUMBER OF GRAVESTONES: 17
DOCUMENTATION:
- 1988 photographs of all gravestones and cemetery layout by Zentralarchiv.
- 1989 Translation of gravestone inscriptions from these photographs by Zentralarchiv (ed. Karol Sidon).
- 1991 Complete cemetery documentation including these photographs by Landesdenkmalamt (State Office for Historic Monuments) edited by Barbara Döpp.
- Photograph of individual gravestone by Hundsnurscher/Taddey 1968, figure # 169.
- History by Dengler 1973.
- Complete cemetery documentation in Durbach 2007.
- Photographs of gravestones and other cemetery views in Alemannia Judaica.
- Up to 1813 the Jewish community in Durbach used the cemetery in Offenburg for burials. (Hahn 1988, page 398). In 1990 31 gravestones were still in evidence (Durbach 2007).
- The cemetery was violated as early as 1932, when 13 gravestones were toppled.
- During the Nazi era the cemetery was violated and severely damaged. The iron gates were used for scrap. The remaining gravestones were removed to create access to a yard of a house, the cemetery surface was levelled and potatoes were planted.
- After 1945 those gravestones which could still be located were returned to the cemetery by order of the Allies. Members of the local Council as well as some local citizens were charged in 1948 with desecration of the cemetery but found not guilty.
[Researched and translated from German January 2008]
To see information and photographs of individual gravestones in cemeteries in Baden-Wuerttemberg, click on this link and follow the directions on that page.