Jüdischer Friedhof

In the community of Essingen there are 2 Jewish cemeteries, which together make up the largest Jewish cemetery complex in the Palatinate. The oldest grave in the old part of the cemetery dates back to 1647, where the deceased from 30 surrounding communities found their last resting place. As early as 1821 the Landau state commissariat lamented the small number of Jewish cemeteries. The transport routes of the deceased were long, which was a big problem especially in summer. The space required was also much greater than in Christian cemeteries because of the eternal peace of the graves. So already in 1825 the new construction of burial places in Edenkoben, Arzheim, Godramstein and in Herxheim was determined. It is not known why the Herxheim cemetery was not built until around 1870. In the time before and after the First World War many Jewish citizens of Herxheim emigrated, after the war only 20 Jewish people lived in the village. In January 1936 Eva Rosenthal was the last deceased to be buried at the cemetery. In 1942 the National Socialists smashed the Jewish gravestones and used them as filling material for the extension of the forest roads. The cemetery grounds were levelled. As a sign of remembrance and reparation, a mighty yellow sandstone with the Zion Star today commemorates what happened.