'Sie haben gestritten und sind gestorben fürs Vaterland und fürs Judentum.' Friedhöfe für jüdische Gefallene des Ersten Weltkriegs im Deutschen Reich

This paper sheds light on the history and the design of military cemeteries for the Jewish victims of the First World War in Germany. Many Jews welcomed the beginning of the World War as a good opportunity to demonstrate their patriotism, proving that Jewish Germans were part of German society. During the Weimar Republic, anti-Semitism increased, and since 1933, it was part of the national socialist governance policy. Under these circumstances the commemoration of Jewish war victims did not only fulfill the basic desire for mourning, but was a political task emphasizing the Jewish contribution to the war. The erection of monuments and memorial tablets in Jewish cemeteries, synagogues, and other institutions had started as early as in 1916. After the end of the war, the design of such monuments became an important task for Jewish architects. In the Jewish cemeteries of many bigger cities, special areas for soldiers were established with standardized tombstones and memorials. Their design and iconography rely on both the general traditions of war remembrance emphasizing the "sacrifice" for the country and the tradition of Jewish religion, culture, and community.