Obermayer German Jewish History Award

Gisela Blume

Zirndorf, Bavaria

For the past ten years, Gisela Blume has devoted her life to preserving, memorializing, and continuing the interaction with the once flourishing Jewish community of Fuerth. Her character, energy and courage is an ongoing inspiration.

The first overwhelming task that she undertook was the restoration of the old Jewish cemetery in Fuerth. The Nazis had removed all of the tombstones, and when they were returned, they were piled on top of each other, far from each of the gravesites. She scoured the world for plot plans, photos, family records, and other information that would allow her to properly replace the tombstones. After a few years of dedicated work, she was able to reconstruct the entire cemetery. She then went on to other important projects. Her searching of the archives for tombstone information led her to produce a database with vital records of more than 15,000 Fuerth Jews going back over 300 years.

Her next major project was the creation of a Holocaust memorial in the new Jewish cemetery inscribed with the names of 886 victims. In conjunction with the dedication of the Holocaust memorial, she prepared and had published a Gedenkbuch (a book of memory) which personalized each of these victims by including photos, biographies and stories about them which she obtained from relatives from all over the world. Her work has been a fitting tribute to those who died and a rich resource for those who wish to learn from history.

Ms. Blume continues to teach students and visiting groups about Jewish life in Fuerth, as it once was, and is regularly invited to the annual reunion in New York of Jews born in Fuerth, which this year attracted 500 people. She has become fluent in Hebrew, visited Israel many times, and has a thorough knowledge of Jewish customs and history.