This final resting place contains around 1,500 graves and was repaired by the Cemetery Fund from 2014 to 2020/21. The repairs were carried out in several stages, from specialist planning, execution, clearing work and general planning services to the static rehabilitation of the graves.
City of Graz wants to intensify care
Elie Rosen, President of the Jewish Community’s Cultural Council, hoped the handover would help raise awareness of the cemetery’s historical heritage. He also emphasized the importance of the cooperation with the city of Graz: “In any case, there is an awareness of the need for support in the care of the cemetery.”
Mayor Elke Kahr (KPÖ) was pleased that the joint effort had been successful and spoke regarding the future of the cemetery: “On the part of the city of Graz, we have undertaken to intensify the care rhythm – this has also been discussed with Holding Graz. That includes not only the lawn, but also the care of the trees, the vegetation on the gravestone itself and much more.” So far, the Styrian military command has repeatedly carried out care work in the cemetery with recruits and senior soldiers.
The Cemetery as a “Contemporary Witness”
National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP) was at the opening in Graz and emphasized the long history of the Mosaic community: “Jewish life has existed in Austria for a very long time. But why wasn’t there a cemetery then?” the President of the National Council put the audience in a reflective mood and referred to the prevailing anti-Semitism. State President Manuela Khom (ÖVP) emphasized the history associated with the cemetery: “It is also a piece of silent contemporary history, a contemporary witness.”
1,500 graves on an area of 14,000 square meters
The cemetery is administered by the Jewish community of Styria, Carinthia and southern Burgenland with around 130 members. It currently houses around 1,500 graves on an area of around 14,000 square meters. For safety reasons, the cemetery is not open to the public. However, it can be visited several times a year in the course of guided tours or as part of the educational program of the Jewish community. Individuals also have the option of visiting the graves – following registering in advance with the Jewish Community of Graz, presenting a photo ID and signing a safety leaflet.
Well-known personalities found their final resting place here
The most important personalities who were buried at the Jewish Cemetery Graz include the long-serving Graz Rabbi Samuel Mühsam (1838-1907), the (co-)founder of the well-known department store Kastner & Öhler, Hermann Öhler (1847-1918), and the city master builder Alexander Zerkowitz (1860-1927). Several mass graves commemorate the Jewish-Hungarian forced laborers of the death marches who were murdered by the Nazis in March/April 1945.
The cemetery was laid out in 1864 and expanded in 1901, when it was still outside the city limits. Before that, the dead of the Jewish community were buried in the nearest Jewish cemetery, in Güssing in Burgenland. In 1910 the city master builder Zerkowitz built a dome for the Graz ceremonial hall. During the November pogroms of 1938, the ceremonial hall was destroyed and rebuilt in 1991.