Former Jewish Cemetery Prenzlau

This cemetery was established in 1716, at that time outside the city walls, and after several expansions, its final area was over 2,200 square metres. After a second Jewish cemetery was opened in Prezlau in 1886, this cemetery fell into disuse and only a few burials took place there until the beginning of the last century.

In 1935, the city of Prenzlau wanted to demolish the cemetery to connect the area with the nearby Adolf Hitler Park. The Jewish community managed to delay this plan, but during the pogroms in November 1938, the cemetery was destroyed and, in 1940, after forced sale, it was incorporated into the park. The shattered gravestones were turned into cobblestones and used as paving stones in the city.

In 1952, the area was declared public property by the GDR. It was not until after 1990 that the fragments misused as paving stones were removed from Brückenstrasse and the road to Wittenhof and sorted. In 2003, a German-Polish group of students from the 9th Lyceum in Szczecin and students from the Municipal College of Prenzlau created a memorial plaque from the gravestone fragments and marked the boundaries of the cemetery with stones.

On 9 November 2003, the cemetery was handed over to the Jewish Community of Brandenburg. Since then, it has been a memorial site. There are several information boards providing more information about the history of the site.

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