HEESSEN BEI HAMM

HEESSEN BEI HAMM: 59073 Westfalen
Heessen, a small village, is located about 5 km NE of Hamm (North side of the Lippe). The cemetery no longer exists. The oldest documentation is held in the mapping section of the land registry office in Hamm. In a map dating from about 1829, "Flurstueck 157", a cemetery of 81 sqm, lies on Kleistrasse surrounded by meadows and open country. The first recorded burial was for Leser Isaac (Blumenthal) 30 Apr 1822. There may have been earlier burials as the Blumenthals were not the first Jewish family to live in Heessen. The last burial in the Heessener Cemetery was in 1883, later burials were conducted in Hamm. In 1944, the cemetery was completely destroyed by a bomb, later it was filled with rubble. Until 1956, maps of Heessen still showed the land as a Jewish Cemetery. In 1985, a house was built on the site, the occupants unaware of what lies beneath them (so I am told). Source: Sie waren so beliebt; Die Geschichte des David Blumenthal aus Heessen by Rita Kreienfeld, 1997 (unpublished), and documents from the Detmold Archives.
Rita Kreienfeld, an ethics teacher at the Albert Schweitzer Hauptschule in Bockum Hoevel (near Hamm), and her class maintain the Jewish Cemetery in Hamm. Source: Helen Hill; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.