Path of Remembrance „Jewish Life in Coburg“

The memorial path “Jewish Life in Coburg” commemorates the city’s Jewish community in 14 stations. These stations trace the history from the community’s integration into Coburg’s civic life in the mid-19th century to its annihilation following the early seizure of power by the National Socialists.

1st station
The Jewish Cemetery
The establishment of Jewish cemeteries in Coburg from 1849 marked the gradual emancipation of the Jewish community. However, its history remained characterised by exclusion, restrictions and violence.
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2nd station
The Hirsch Jewish School
The Jewish boarding house provided education and safety until 1938. It symbolised integration through learning – before it was forcibly closed and its headmaster persecuted during the Nazi era.
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3rd station
Synagogue
From 1873-1932, the Nikolaus Chapel was the Jewish community's synagogue. It was at the heart of religious life until the community was deprived of its space through persecution and violence.
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4th station
The District Court
Jewish lawyers such as Kuno Hirsch and the Baer brothers had been practising in Coburg since 1895. With the Nazi era, their work came to an end.
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5th station
The Friedmann Villa
In the course of their social ascent, Jews adopted bourgeois lifestyles. A prominent example is Abraham Friedmann. Disenfranchised and mistreated in 1933, he lost his house, office and homeland.
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6th station
Sally Ehrlich's residence
Jewish entrepreneurs such as the Ehrlich brothers shaped Coburg’s industrial history. Expropriated and persecuted in 1938, their company was forcibly closed and Sally Ehrlich was murdered.
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7th station
Mayer Grain Wholesalers
Jacob von Mayer, a Jewish grain merchant and banker, was elevated to the rank of baron. As an entrepreneur, philanthropist and local politician, he influenced Coburg's economic and and social life.
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8th station
The old synagogue
A Jewish community already existed in Coburg during the Middle Ages. After their expulsion in the 15th century, Jewish life disappeared from the city for a long time.
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9th station
The Beating Parlour
After 1933, SA members dragged Jewish citizens to the city police's “beating parlour” in Coburg, where they were severely abused. This violence was part of systematic persecution.
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10th station
Market square
In the 19th century, Jews returned to Coburg for the first time in a long time. Despite initial equality, they were later disenfranchised, persecuted, deported and completely wiped out by 1942.
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11th station
Simon Brothers Residence
In 1805, Jews were once again allowed to settle in Coburg. The Simon family defied harassment and founded a banking and textile business, but their economic rise ended in bankruptcy in 1891.
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12th station
Conitzer & Fechheimer department stores
Jewish department stores such as Fechheimer and Conitzer shaped modern Coburg. After 1933, they were boycotted, expropriated, and destroyed – their owners persecuted, mistreated, or murdered.
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13th station
The Kohn Family and the Orthopedic & Surgical Clinic, Dr. Emil Gutmann
Since 2022, Ilse-Kohn-Platz has commemorated the fate of the Jewish woman murdered in Auschwitz in 1942. Her story stands as a reminder of the persecution of Jewish families during the Nazi era.
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14th station
Stern Livestock Traders
Jewish cattle dealers such as Siegfried Stern shaped Coburg’s economy from 1871 onwards. In 1935, the city revoked their licences – Stern fled to the USA in 1938, where he died in exile in 1945.
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