An urgent request and a new beginning (1811)

As can be seen from notes on the back of the request, Schweling immediately replied that a plot could not be allocated immediately as "higher ratification" had to be obtained and further formalities had to be observed. He therefore asked that the deceased child be buried in a neighboring cemetery. At the same time, he reproached the community for not having submitted an application earlier.

However, Schweling did order an investigation into whether a suitable plot of land for a Jewish cemetery could be found outside the city gates, where new Catholic cemeteries had also been established at the beginning of the 19th century. And a few days later he approached Karl Josef von Mylius – the Prefect of the Département Ems, who resided in Münster – with very concrete proposals:

"Quite some time ago, the Jewish merchants resident here told me of their wish to have a plot of land where they could bury their dead according to their customs. I informed them that they should present their request to me in writing so that I could report on it, but this did not happen until a few days ago when a child in their community died in this city. So they now came to me with their predicament, handing me a written request for the allocation of a burial place. I arranged [...] for a plot to be located and, together with them, found a suitable place outside the “Neues Thor” gate, namely one of the newly laid out gardens in front of this gate [...] [....] but there was no question of transferring ownership of this plot to them immediately because the sale of municipal property is subject to several formalities, and so on this occasion the child was buried in the Jewish cemetery in the nearby town of Telgte.
The Jews, however, ardently desire the speedy allocation of a burial place for their community, so I have also looked at other locations and find, for example, a suitable place in front of the “Ludgeri Thor” gate opposite the Bleiche [laundry place].
Under these circumstances, I must urgently ask you, Lord Prefect, to inform me [....] how I am to proceed regarding the provision of such a burial ground out of the municipal properties." (Staatsarchiv Münster, Regierung Münster, no. 17163, 1810 Acta wegen Anlegung der Begräbnisplätze für die jüdischen Gemeinden, letter dated January 10, 1811)

Schweling stresses the current predicament of the Jewish community, but evidently feels it necessary to point out that he is not to blame for the urgency of the matter. Yet at the same time he supports the petitioners by putting their request across forcefully. Moreover, he mentions his efforts to find a suitable solution together with the Jewish community’s representatives and urgently requests a response from the Prefect.

In a letter to the interim mayor dated January 18, 1811, the Prefect responded to the request as follows:

"From your letter of the 10th of this month I have noted that the town’s Jewish community requests the allocation of a place where they can bury their dead according to the customs of their religion, and that they propose the transfer of a municipal plot of land for this purpose. I would like to point out that although the municipality may allocate any place it wishes to the Jewish community for their burials without observing the formalities prescribed in Art. 45 & 46 of the Grand Ducal Decree of October 13, 1807, the cemeteries themselves shall remain municipal property. It seems to me, however, unnecessary to establish a special churchyard for our city’s small Jewish community and that it would suffice to create a segregated burial area in one of the new churchyards laid out in front of the gates" (Stadtarchiv Münster, Stadtregistratur Fach 36,6, fol. 4)

Von Mylius refers to the new administrative regulations passed in the Grand Duchy of Berg on October 13, 1807 and on that basis sees the possibility in principle of allocating a plot of land belonging to the municipality for use by the Jewish community but without any transfer of ownership. He emphasizes, however, that he sees no need for a separate Jewish cemetery but that the Jewish community should instead be given a segregated plot of land within one of the Christian cemeteries.

Nevertheless, Schweling sticks to his guns and provides the Jewish community with this confirmation:

"In response to your request of the 7th of last month for the allocation of a burial ground for your community, I reply to you on the basis of a resolution obtained from the Prefect that a municipal plot can be allocated to you for use to this end. I therefore propose to you a site outside the Neues Thor, which I and some of your representatives already deemed suitable some time ago; it is located there on the Coesfeld road, the last of the garden plots (no. 10) laid out there as per the plan drawn up thereupon and is located near the properties belonging to the Gograf [magistrate] Wemhof" (Stadtarchiv Münster, Stadtregistratur Fach 36,6, fol. 5, dated February 5, 1811)