On 28 May 2025, the team of the Nuremberg Academy, alongside staff of the Memorium Nuremberg Trials, the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court and other guests, took a guided tour through the Old Jewish Cemetery in Nuremberg. The visit aimed at providing information not only about the graveyard itself, but also about the history of the Jewish community in Nuremberg.
The visitors learned that in 1499, when the Jewish population was expelled from Nuremberg, they were barred from reentering the city for 351 years. It wasn't until 1850 that the city magistrate permitted them to settle in Nuremberg as citizens. As the number of Jewish residents steadily increased and the Jewish cemetery in Fürth reached capacity, the 'Old Jewish Cemetery' on Bärenschanzstraße was established in 1864. Although the cemetery was officially declared full in the 1920s, burials continued in family plots until the 1940s.
The predominantly German-language inscriptions —unlike the traditional Hebrew— reflect that the Jewish community in Nuremberg was both reformed and highly assimilated. The elaborate designs of the gravestones further indicate that the first Jewish citizens to settle in the city belonged to wealthy and prominent families. Seeking to distance themselves from these practices, the Orthodox community later established its own cemetery. During the National Socialism era, all metal objects from the graves were looted for use in the war industry. However, much of the damage to the gravestones occurred during Allied bombings of Nuremberg, as well as through later acts of vandalism. Since many of those buried have few or no descendants remaining in Germany, several gravestones have never been repaired. (ms/pg)