Klein, Rudolf
Metropolitan Jewish Cemeteries

of the 19th and 20th Centuries in Central and Eastern Europe. A Comparative Study.

The book presents cemeteries that have survived until today in their substantial parts, as well as slightly or markedly ruined cemeteries representing a special value in artistic, landscaping or historic aspects, or from the point of view of memorising strategies of the lost Jewish population and its tangible heritage. This work touches upon the entirety of issues related to Jewish burial places of the 19th and 20th centuries: urban level, morphology of cemeteries, gravestone typology, stylistic analysis, symbols and inscriptions - language, content, typography - tahara and ceremonial halls, wells, benches, pergolas, row-and section-markers and gravel holders. This is the first comprehensive work on metropolitan Jewish cemeteries in Central and Eastern Europe on an international level. Based on a comparative analysis of numerous examples, from the Baltic to the Balkans, and from Russia to Germany, it touches upon art history, architecture and planning, landscaping, Jewish studies, and on general and modern Jewish history. An important aspect of this work is the cultural background of Jewish funerary art: Christian-Jewish dialogue, the inter-Jewish influence between different European regions, including the impact of the Reform Movement that started in Germany and spread across the whole continent, and the Ashkenazi-Sephardi dialogue in some parts of the old continent. 455 Seiten mit 1.171 Farbabb., Großformat, gebunden (Beiträge zur Denkmalpflege in Berlin; Band 49/ICOMOS. Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees; Nr. LXVI/International Council on Monuments and Sites/Michael Imhof Verlag 2018) etwas bestoßen