Les cimetières juifs d’Alsace et de Lorraine, un patrimoine exceptionnel

Résumé 0

Home to three-quarters of France’s Jews on the eve of the French Revolution, Alsace and Lorraine mark the western frontier of traditional Ashkenazi Jewry. Moselle and Alsace are marked by rural Judaism, characterized by a multitude of small communities. The capital of French Judaism in the early 19th century, Metz was later dethroned by Paris. This heritage – combined with the fact that, with the German annexation of 1871-1919, three French departments were not affected by the major secular laws of the Third Republic - explains why Alsace and Lorraine still have very distinctive features within the French Jewish landscape, and are home to almost 80 % of the nation’s Jewish heritage, including more than 130 cemeteries that are at least partially preserved (out of more than 170 documented). This article traces the history of the cemeteries in these two regions, highlighting the common features or, on the contrary, the specific features of each territory. It will focus on the constraints represented by respect for Jewish law (halakhah) and the gradual influence, particularly from the mid-19th century onwards, of the models and values of the surrounding society.