Drawings of Judische Friedhof ( Jewish Cemetery)

During the summer of 2000, I drew charcoal drawings on location in the "Judische Friedhof"(Jewish Cemetery). Located right next to the main graveyard in Mannheim, Germany, it is easily accessible through an Iron Gate, which is open for visitors regular hours or by previous arrangements.

This is the new Jewish Cemetery built in 1925. There are older stones in the graveyard, which were transferred from a previous graveyard in another location. The atmosphere is unique because the stones are aging and green with moss and the trees have grown large causing a peaceful filtered light. The cemetery has a far different arrangement than the neighboring main cemetery, which is all in order with many small separately maintained graves. The Jewish Graveyard is more random and maintained with a different philosophy that allows nature to make it more naturally beautiful, causing a strong lasting impression to remain with anyone who walks there. Some stones are inscribed in Hebrew, some in German, and some have both languages. There are tours sponsored by the city of Mannheim several times a year and even though the vandalism of Jewish cemeteries is growing in Germany, there have been none of these incidences in the cemetery in Mannheim. These cemeteries are a sacred and historical legacy that needs to be maintained and saved for all of us.

In the middle of the stones surrounding the common grave is the Lemle Moses Reinganum stone. He lived from 1666-1724 and his stone along with others was transferred here in 1938. In my slide list of drawings, as a reference to the previous influences seen in the beautiful designs and the animal forms carved as relief sculpture on this stone, I call the drawing "Mesopotamian Vestige." There are other special stones with historical significance as seen in the drawing "The Leoni Family." Located along the border of the other cemetery with other huge family stone memorials, "The Leoni Family" stands out because of its lost wax method of casting bronze vessels, mosaics and intricate stone carving. Another drawing shows the row of huge memorials with some smaller less known individual stones located immediately before them. From this image comes one of my most expressionistic drawings, "The Great and the Small." The drawings are strong with varied charcoal technique using direct application, smudging, and scratching to create the compositions that are varied and the values that reflect the beauty of the light as it is filtered through the clouds and trees.

While the drawings are representational, they go beyond a purely realistic approach to provoke in the viewer emotions that make for contemplation. They are thought provoking not only because of the subject matter but also because I wrote the names that were on the stones on the ground before the stones where they appeared in my drawings. Noting the individual names makes the injustice of the holocaust and surrounding German experience more personal. Most of the people that were buried here had no idea when they died what was to transpire shortly after their deaths that would end or change the lives of their descendants. Somehow there is a connection between the historic significance, the atmosphere and the experience of being there present in the images that is thought provoking. The viewers feel they are sharing the suffering of these families as well as being responsible for that suffering. There is some kind of connection that we all make standing before death that brings us together and makes us want to guard against causing more suffering than necessary in our world.

My translations of the stone inscriptions and memorials placed at the cemetery by the Germans.

The following is what it says on front of a sign that stands on the outside of the Jewish Cemetery between the Mannheim main cemetery and the Jewish cemetery:

In memory of the innocent persecuted and abandoned Christians of Jewish dissent from Mannheim and Baden: women, men and children

Those who in 1940 were deported to Gurs, Theresienstadt and Ausschwitz and were lost without a trace.

Those who in 1933 - 45 committed suicide because of cruel persecution in their native country.

Erected in the year 1999 by the Herman Maas Foundation

God bless Transferred to the city of Mannheim

In the Jewish Cemetery, standing with the old stones, which surround the rectangular area where the individual graves were transferred into a common grave are the following words carved in German on a separate stone:

What is the meaning of this stone, which I see here? wonders the passerby. This grave mound is witness, noble witness of the collection of remains of the faithful and pure, 3586

Those who were beloved and respected in their lifetime that in death after they had been given to a peaceful grave once before, each in their own grave in the graveyard of our municipality of Mannheim, F 71.

They were transferred here in the year 1938 according to the law. They were again buried in a joint grave with all honors.

Now you, those of you who in blessed peace rest, don't hold it against us if we disturbed your peace. It was not with malicious intent that we did this as everyone knows.
Peace to your bones.

"The Great and the Small"
18" x 24"
2000

"Light Flickering on the Backs"
18" x 24"
2000

"Mesopotamia Vestige"
18" x 24"
2000

"Names Continue On"
24" x 18"
2000



"Leaning on Each Other"
24" x 18"
2000



"The Leoni Family"
18" x 24"
2000

"Everyone Follows This Path"
24" x 18"
2000

"Dance of the Pines and Stones"
24" x 18"
2000

"Stacks and Stones and Columns Cut Short"
18" x 24"
2000

"Mass Grave Markers"
18" x 24"
2000