Chapter 86: The Jüdischer Friedhof Deutz: Cologne's Oldest Surviving Jewish Cemetery

Warning! The wind distorted the audio quite a bit but I kept it as some great communication came through! I apologise in advance for that!In this episode, I visit the Jüdischer Friedhof Deutz in Cologne, the city’s oldest surviving Jewish cemetery, founded in the late 17th century. Although the site is closed to the public, I walk along its perimeter and describe what can still be seen: centuries-old gravestones, later 19th- and early-20th-century burials, and the surrounding neighbourhood that has grown up around it.I reflect on the long and difficult history of Jewish life in Cologne, including periods of persecution, expulsion, and destruction, as well as the cemetery’s damage during the Nazi era and its partial restoration after the war. I also talk about how the cemetery is maintained today, its status as a protected site, and the presence of a Commonwealth war grave for British servicemen from the First World War.As I move along the fence, I compare this cemetery with others I’ve visited and consider how history, memory, and neglect shape the way burial sites are treated. This episode is a quiet, on-location reflection on place, history, and how the past continues to sit alongside everyday life in modern Germany.