Memorial Neuer Börneplatz

About

The Neuer Börneplatz Memorial Site, also called Börneplatz Memorial Site, in Frankfurt am Main commemorates the Jewish community of Frankfurt that was massacred in the Holocaust. It was opened to the public on 16 June 1996. Its most important element is the outer wall of the Old Jewish Cemetery Battonnstraße with a frieze of 11,908 memorial name blocks, paying individual tribute to victims of the Schoa. The second major element is the Neuer Börneplatz between the cemetery's wall and the Rechneigrabenstraße.

The memorial site is located in the eastern inner city of Frankfurt, between the Battonnstraße in the north, the Rechneigrabenstraße in the south and the rear of a large modern building in the west (formerly an office building of Frankfurter Stadtwerke on Kurt-Schumacher-Straße, today planning department of the city of Frankfurt; the Museum Judengasse is also located in this building).

The Neuer Börneplatz is a pedestrian zone. The memorial site and the Museum Judengasse are accessible from both Battonnstraße and Rechneigrabenstraße.

The historic Börneplatz and today's Neuer Börneplatz

The Börneplatz was originally called Judenmarkt (Market of the Jews). Until the end of World War II, the "old" Börneplatz was situated to the west of the area of today's Neuer Börneplatz, which was in turn covered by buildings until the end of World War II (cf. the maps below).

The buildings on today's Neuer Börneplatz were destroyed in World War II. Thus, for about four decades, the Börneplatz was extended on the eastern side by an area which is roughly today's Neuer Börneplatz. Then a new building was erected on the area of the "old" Börneplatz, which had diseappeared by 1990. Its eastern post-war extension was left over; it was named Neuer Börneplatz.

1862: The square area defined by the Hospital of the Israelitische Krankenkassen ( Isr. Krankenkasse ) and the row of six small hospital houses (no. 22–32) is roughly the area of today's Neuer Börneplatz.

1872: The Hospital of the Israelitische Krankenkassen (left). The Judenmarkt is behind this building. Middle: the row of small houses (view of the easternmost house) next to the cemetery.

1892: The Judenmarkt is now called Börneplatz. Note the Börneplatz Synagogue ( Syn. ) between Börneplatz and the Old Jewish Cemetery. The Schnurgasse is today's Battonnstraße.

The memorial site is located in the eastern inner city of Frankfurt, between the Battonnstraße in the north, the Rechneigrabenstraße in the south and the rear of a large modern building in the west (formerly an office building of Frankfurter Stadtwerke on Kurt-Schumacher-Straße, today planning department of the city of Frankfurt; the Museum Judengasse is also located in this building).

The Neuer Börneplatz is a pedestrian zone. The memorial site and the Museum Judengasse are accessible from both Battonnstraße and Rechneigrabenstraße.

The Börneplatz was originally called Judenmarkt (Market of the Jews). Until the end of World War II, the "old" Börneplatz was situated to the west of the area of today's Neuer Börneplatz, which was in turn covered by buildings until the end of World War II (cf. the maps below).

The buildings on today's Neuer Börneplatz were destroyed in World War II. Thus, for about four decades, the Börneplatz was extended on the eastern side by an area which is roughly today's Neuer Börneplatz. Then a new building was erected on the area of the "old" Börneplatz, which had diseappeared by 1990. Its eastern post-war extension was left over; it was named Neuer Börneplatz.

1862: The square area defined by the Hospital of the Israelitische Krankenkassen ( Isr. Krankenkasse ) and the row of six small hospital houses (no. 22–32) is roughly the area of today's Neuer Börneplatz.

1872: The Hospital of the Israelitische Krankenkassen (left). The Judenmarkt is behind this building. Middle: the row of small houses (view of the easternmost house) next to the cemetery.

1892: The Judenmarkt is now called Börneplatz. Note the Börneplatz Synagogue ( Syn. ) between Börneplatz and the Old Jewish Cemetery. The Schnurgasse is today's Battonnstraße.

The most prominent part of the memorial site is the frieze of metal blocks on the outer wall of the Old Jewish Cemetery. It commemorates Jews who were murdered during the Nazi era or died as a result of persecution, and who were associated with Frankfurt either by birth ( Anne Frank is an example) or because they had resided there or were deported from Frankfurt. The inscriptions on the metal blocks inform the visitors about the names of these victims as well as their basic biographical data (date of birth, date of death if known and place of death). Visitors can place small stones on the blocks according to Jewish mourning rites.

By the time the memorial site was inaugurated, 11,134 persons were represented by a name block. The name frieze on the southern cemetery wall was extended by 823 name blocks in 2010. As of 2023, the frieze consists of 11,908 name blocks.

The names and data inscribed on the blocks can also be found in the publicly accessible Neuer Börneplatz Memorial database, in most cases along with more biographical and background information and sometimes photographs. The database was initiated by the Jewish Museum Frankfurt, it can be used in the Museum Judengasse. The ongoing research for the database enabled corrections to be made to the frieze of name blocks. Many name blocks were added. On the other hand, 60 name blocks were removed because it had turned out that those persons had either survived the Holocaust or they were not associated with Frankfurt or they were not Jewish.

Ahead of the memorial site's inauguration in 1996, the cemetery wall received a new gate. It consists of two modern metal door wings on which "Beth HaChaim" (House of Life) is written in Hebrew letters.