with Ministerpräsident Schweizer(4.from left),
Frau Monika Fuhr, Commissioner für Jewish Affairs und Antisemitism (left), Grünstadt Bürgermeister M. Scarmato(2.from left) and jury member(right)

Our work on the historic Jewish cemetery in Grünstadt was honored at the 'Ehrenamt4.0' competition of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate. On January 17 we were in the State Chancellery (at the Palace in Mainz) to receive the award from Minister-President Alexander Schweitzer.

The "Team-Partners" in Grünstadt, led by Ms. Richarda Eich, prepared the documentation needed for the Ehremat competition. The fieldwork began in the late summer of 2023. Since the spring of 2024, the map has been available on our website. It provides the essential information (where this was still legible) -- names and dates -- of those buried as well as images of the gravestones. For the gravestones bearing exclusively Hebrew text, translation assistance was provided by language scholars. We thank the University of Jewish Studies in Heidelberg for their support.

Without the volunteers of the 'Grünstadt Team', who previously worked to restore the cemetery and subsequently participated in the data collection, the project would never have come into being: Wolfgang Doberstein, Uwe Lohr and Volker Eich. For years, Ms. Eich has been engaged in preserving the Jewish history of Grünstadt and the surrounding area. As a respected figure in Grünstadt, she was able to mobilize the support of the administration: among other things, the cemetery grounds with their more than 460 gravestones are regularly maintained by the city. At the award ceremony we were pleased to have with us the current mayor, Mr. Mimmo Scarmuto.
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* "Ehrenamt" translates here roughly as "Volunteer work".

Newsletter: OpenStreetMap Weekly-811. 08.02.2026