European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 04, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse The jewish cemetery is the oldest and largest jewish cemetery in Europe. Is 0 it Casey Worms historical City once dubbed utile jerusalem1 by Joseph Owen staff writer a moldy scrap of yellow paper Lay precariously atop a thin Tombstone folded in quarters and held in place by a Small Rock. The sacred spot the jewish cemetery in Worms Germany spans a millennium of bittersweet history but the prayer scribbled on the paper addressed a very modern urgency. Dear cod and the person who lies Here it read. I ask you to help me to find an apartment. So that life can go on. I beg there was no signature. Another message on a nearby Tombstone asked simply for health and peace in the dozens of other notes were scattered throughout the Small Heiliger Sand holy Sand graveyard All placed gingerly on. The uneven surfaces of headstones anchored Down by rocks. Pleas for help were abundant. Some notes were written in German most bore hebrew characters. The weather had rendered Many of them illegible. T. It seems fitting somehow that desperate people reflect on their problems at a burial place for other people who wore in sults and afflictions As a second skin. The most prominent cemetery resident rabbi Meir of Rothenburg of Der Tauber suffered indignity both in life and in death. The German emperor imprisoned him in 1286 to prevent other jews from emigrating and depriving the Empire of tax Revenue. After the rabbi died in prison in 1293, the authorities demanded a High Ransom for his remains and the jewish Community was unable to pay until 14 years later. Now he lies buried in the cemetery s old Section where the randomly placed headstones have sunk and tilted Over the years creating an impression of listing ships on Frozen Waves. The jews left them that Way to adjust the stones would disturb the dead they believed. The newer Section is on a Small adjacent plateau next to Railroad tracks. The gravestones seem to be on a giant platform waiting for the next train perhaps hoping to escape the crush of summer visitors who sometimes pack Europe s oldest jewish cemetery from morning until evening. Like the cemetery Worms itself invites quiet reflection. The City hugging the Rhine s West Bank some 15 Miles Northwest of Mannheim boasts 6,000 years of settlement. It was a thriving Crossroads of Commerce and one of Germany s most prominent cities during the Middle Ages. Christianity experienced an historic reconciliation Here in the concordat of Worms which ended a dispute Between the Pope and the German emperor in 1122. The City also was the stage for an event that divided christians in 1521. The diet of Worms expelled Reform minded Martin Luther from the Empire in that year. Today far from the main currents of wealth and Power. Worms is a pleasant Backwater wreathed in vineyards and haunted by monuments to its eclipsed grandeur. The 5th signal come he and other Small . Army units Are stationed in Worms but the soldiers never experienced the mass protests or Community disenchantment that troubled the army in some other German towns. One of the reasons it s been easy on the americans Here and it s never been much of a hassle As far As the germans go is we be never had Man Euver units Here vineyards grow right up to the 14th-century"liebfrauenkirche" or Church of our lady. Is do Casey 72 stripes mjg uie november i 1993
