ORF, November 8, 2021
German Original: https://noe.orf.at/stories/3129024
The Jewish cemetery in Klosterneuburg (Tulln district) has been handed over to the city by the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG). For three years, the cemetery was renovated under the supervision of the Federal Monuments Office.
In Hebrew, cemeteries are referred to as the "house of eternity" or the "house of the living. The resting place of the dead is supposed to last forever; unlike in cemeteries of other religions, graves are preserved for centuries. The care of graves has a correspondingly high significance in Judaism. In Klosterneuburg, foundations have now been restored for three years, gravestones were restored and the cemetery wall was renewed.
"This place means a lot to us, this house of life, the 650 graves have now been given a dignified standing so that the people here can rest in dignity," said Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish Community of Vienna, when the cemetery was handed over to the city of Klosterneuburg. The city is committed to maintain the cemetery for at least 20 years, which is a condition for receiving funding from the Fund for the Restoration of Jewish Cemeteries in Austria.
A place of remembrance, commemoration and dialogue
But the task goes beyond that, says Klosterneuburg's mayor Stefan Schmuckenschlager (ÖVP): "It is also an idealistic debate. The task means thinking about issues that people may no longer think about because they happened a long time ago. The goal of our contribution here is that Jewish life in Klosterneuburg is alive again." In this way, the cemetery will also become a place for dialogue between Jewish history and the Austrian society. According to IKG (Jewish Community) Vienna, a school project is planned, for example.
The cemetery was opened in 1874 and is still occupied today. "Unlike other cemeteries in Austria, the one in Klosterneuburg was not destroyed during the Nazi dictatorship. The graves remained untouched, but also forgotten," said Hannah Lessing, secretary general of the Fund for the Restoration of Jewish Cemeteries and the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism.
The renovation will cost 640,000 euros, with one quarter coming from the province of Lower Austria and three quarters from the Fund for the Maintenance of Jewish Cemeteries in Austria. During the handover, chairman, National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP) also warned of a worldwide increase in anti-Semitism.
"We did not face this history for a long time"
"We ask ourselves why and, of course, what do we have to do about it. It is not a question of Jews to fight against anti-Semitism, but the task of our society as a whole," Sobotka said. As Tuesday marks the 83rd anniversary of the Reichspogromnacht - from November 9 to 10, 1938, Nazis in Germany and Austria killed hundreds of Jews and destroyed synagogues, stores and homes - it is important to note that "we did not face this history for a long time. We swept it under the rug. And it is arduous to face this history as it has been."
The restoration can also be seen as an impetus to invite the displaced descendants of the deceased to Klosterneuburg, Sobotka said. There are still 30 Jewish cemeteries in Lower Austria. The fund for maintenance already restored, for example, the one in Baden, and work is currently underway in Waidhofen an der Thaya and Oberstockstall (district of Tulln). In Austria, 65 Jewish cemeteries have been preserved.