On the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust 2023, the Friends of the Willy-Brandt-Haus are showing the photo documentation "House of Eternity" by the two photo authors Marcel-Th.

and Klaus Jacobs on Jewish cemeteries in the Central European cultural area

More than 75 years after the Shoah and the almost complete destruction of the diverse Jewish culture in Central Europe, the project of the "Friends for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Central European Cultural Areas" wants to set an example.

Seventy Jewish cemeteries in Germany, Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic were captured on black-and-white film with an analog camera for the documentation.

The photos bear witness to the diverse Jewish sepulchral culture.

Alongside synagogues and mikvaot (ritual immersion baths), Jewish cemeteries are among the indispensable facilities of Jewish communities and are therefore an essential part of everyday Jewish culture.

They reflect the great diversity of the former Jewish population.

Behind every tombstone is the biography of a deceased person.

A look back at the history of the respective Jewish communities and their final resting places shows the extent of the annihilation of Jewish life and work in all four countries.

The exhibition wants to contribute to preserving a piece of memory.

The group of friends of the Willy-Brandt-Haus is showing the exhibition "House of Eternity - Jewish Cemeteries in the Central European Cultural Area" from January 27 to February 26, 2023.