Baron Hirsch Cemetery

Baron Hirsch Cemetery

Details
Established	1899[1]
Location	1126 Richmond Avenue, Staten Island, New York City
Country	USA
Coordinates	40°37′20″N 74°09′18″W / 40.6221°N 74.1549°W
Type	Jewish
Size	80 acres (320,000 m^2)
Find a Grave	http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=63913

Baron Hirsch Cemetery (New York City)

For the cemeteries in Halifax and Montreal, Canada, see Baron de Hirsch Cemetery (disambiguation).

Baron Hirsch Cemetery is a large Jewish cemetery on Staten Island, New York, set up by Maurice de Hirsch.

History

The cemetery was established in 1899.^[1]

In January, 1960, the cemetery drew national attention when 87 headstones were found with yellow paint used to write “Fuhrer,” and the German words for death and fatherland on gravestones bearing such Jewish symbols as the star of David. The incident and others led President Dwight D. Eisenhower to declare that freedom and decency could be destroyed everywhere if Americans ignored the "virus of bigotry" or permitted it "to spread one inch."^[2]

Nevertheless, continued vandalism,^[3][4][5] as well as apathy and neglect^[6] have remained problems at Baron Hirsch for decades, resulting in numerous overturned grave markers.

The cemetery is composed of about 500 plot or sections belonging to synagogues, Jewish associations, family circles, and most commonly, landsmanshaftn. Most plots are entered via gates or pairs of stone columns. Some of the landsmanshaftn have monuments dedicated to Holocaust victims of the Nazis in their ancestral town.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Notable burials

• Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr. (1895–1979), newspaper publisher, founder of Advance Publications;^[11] and other members of the Newhouse publishing family.
• Joseph Papp (1921–1991) – theater producer, theater director, and founder of The Public Theater^[12][13]
• William Shemin (1896–1973) – Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient^[14]
• Elliot Willensky (1943–2010) – composer, lyricist, and music producer^[15]

References

1. Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York from January 1 to March 27, 1906. Board of Aldermen. 1906. p. 1091. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
2. "President Scores 'Virus of Bigotry' - Warns It Must Be Stemmed as Peril to Freedom". New York Times. January 13, 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
3. "Two 200-Pound Doors Stolen From Cemetery". New York Times. February 25, 1981. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
4. "Headstones Overturned In S.I. Jewish Cemetery". New York Times. September 15, 1997. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
5. Vandam, Jeff (May 16, 2004). "Neighborhood Report: Graniteville - In a Place Plagued by Vandals, The Pain of Putting Things Right". New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
6. Grunlund, Maura. "Apathy, neglect and vines overtake Staten Island cemetery". Staten Island Advance (Advance Publications, at silive.com). Retrieved 5 January 2016.
7. "hm/wodzislaw/bh". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
8. "hm/gvardeyskoye/bh". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
9. "hm/nadvirna/bh". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
10. "hm/hlusk/bh". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
11. "Samuel I. Newhouse". findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
12. Blau, Eleanor (2 November 1991). "Joseph Papp Is Remembered in Words and Song". New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
13. "Joseph Papp". findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
14. "William Shemin". findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
15. "Elliott Willensky". findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 January 2016.

Coordinates: 40°37′20″N 74°09′18″W / 40.6221°N 74.1549°W