2 November 2022

Sepulchral culture on display at the university until the end of lectures in February 2023

On 9 October 2022, there were two events at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences dedicated to remembrance and commemoration: the premiere of the film "Colette" and the opening of an exhibition on Jewish sepulchral culture.

"True, man does not know his time" is written on one of the seven staircase panels in House 19, which discreetly point the way to the exhibition. Various verses from the translation work of Hebrew grave inscriptions can be read on the staircase slides, which provide an initial contact with the topic and show how the deceased person was honoured and how death, mourning and remembrance were dealt with on a textual level. These are the results of the project "Digitisation of Jewish cemeteries in the district of Nordhausen", which is funded by the Thuringian State Chancellery and has been carried out by Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences since March 2021.

Thanks to its architecture and spaciousness, the foyer of the lecture theatre building offers the opportunity for the three existing Jewish cemeteries in Bleicherode, Ellrich and Nordhausen and the cemeteries in Sülzhayn and Werna, which no longer exist, to stand alone with their history and special features in the four open spatial areas, as well as forming a closed circle on the topic through the level. Around 13 roll-ups with text and images are dedicated to the cemeteries. The ceiling hangers, which appear to float above the heads, usually 2 to 3 pieces for each cemetery, show the text panel of the respective gravestone and the corresponding translation printed on both sides in order to rejoin the verses on the steps. Behind each gravestone is a personal story, often enriched with photographs. Depending on the quality, old photographs were used for the life-size figure displays, which were supplemented with brief biographical information and a photo of the gravestone.

"History can also be climate-friendly" was the motto when planning the exhibition, which required research into the design, materials and companies with environmentally friendly production options. This was an important component and at the same time interesting new territory for the exhibition curator Dr Marie-Luis Zahradnik, who worked closely with Dirk Schröter's advertising agency. For the most part, materials and production methods were used that are environmentally friendly, for example through greater CO2 savings and 100 per cent recyclability, which corresponds to a newly emerging trend in exhibition curation, but is taken into account more in the "big" museums. The exhibition can thus be a trailblazer for museums in the municipal sector that want to break new ground for their next exhibition work. One sustainable aspect of the exhibition lies in its mobile application. It can also be set up at other locations and used there for educational and professional programmes. Interested parties are welcome to contact the university. The exhibition will be open to the public in the foyer of the upper floor of the newly renovated Building 19 until the beginning of February 2023 and can be viewed from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm.

Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences would like to thank the Thuringian State Chancellery for funding the digitisation project, which made the content of the exhibition possible in the first place, and all those who supported the implementation of the exhibition, above all Mr Heise from the association Gegen Vergessen - Für Demokratie e.V., the city of Nordhausen and the Kreissparkasse Nordhausen.

Photos: Nadine Kathrin Luschnat