My ancestors have been buried in a Jewish cemetery in Seelow, Germany since the 1800s. During the Nazi period the cemetery was desecrated and destroyed in WWII. After the war it was paved over as a parking lot, which it has remained for 60 years. I have research the history of the cemetery and I am have recommended to the town, to create a memory park and return the paved over land as a memory park.
Meine Vorfahren wurden seit dem 19. Jahrhundert auf einem jüdischen Friedhof in Deutschland begraben. Während der Nazizeit wurde der Friedhof geschändet und im Zweiten Weltkrieg zerstört. Nach dem Krieg wurde er als Parkplatz zugepflastert, was er seit über 60 Jahren bleibt. Ich erforsche die Geschichte des Friedhofs und arbeite mit der Stadt an einem Vorschlag, ein Denkmal zu errichten und das gepflasterte Gelände als Park zurückzugeben.
Seelow, Germany, In May of 2026 work has begun on restoring the site of the Jewish Cemetery in Seelow, as a present day memorial park. This cemetery existed as a jewish cemetery from 1800 until World War II. In 1938, it was desecrated during kristallnacht, and the last burial was my great-grandfather, Max Philippsborn in 1940. It became abandoned, its headstones were discarded and was later turned into a parking lot for more than half a century.
The layout of the memory park boundary generally mirrors that of the original design based on historical documents. The park will incorporate signage and a memorial honouring those buried within. Construction is expected until the autumn of 2026.
Drawings courtesy of Stadt Seelow/Garten- und Landschaftsarchitekturbüro, May 2026

Construction of the Memory Park began in May 2026. Photo courtesy Michael Schimmel

Mock up proof of concept sign, commemorating the names of over 100 jews buried in Seelow. Courtesy of WEINREICH+HEINRICH GmbH

On March 11, 2024 a banner placed on the front gate of the destroyed cemetery showing the names of 115 jews who were buried in the Jewish Cemetery between 1800 and 1940.

On March 11, 2024 a banner placed on the front gate of the destroyed cemetery showing the names of 115 jews who were buried in the Jewish Cemetery between 1800 and 1940.

On March 11, 2024 a banner placed on the front gate of the destroyed cemetery showing the names of 115 jews who were buried in the Jewish Cemetery between 1800 and 1940.

Excerpted pages from surviving hebrew prayers used in the Seelow Jewish Community.

View Proposals by descendent of Seelow Jews, Ben Wood, to restore the vanished Jewish Cemetery of Seelow as a present day memory park.
Sehen Sie sich die Vorschläge von Ben Wood – einem Nachfahren von Juden aus Seelow – an, den verschwundenen jüdischen Friedhof von Seelow als heutigen Gedenkpark wiederherzustellen.
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