German Waldheim Cemetery
German Waldheim Cemetery, previously known as Waldheim Cemetery, and currently Forest Home Cemetery is located at 863 Des Plaines Ave. in Forest Park, a suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois.[1] It was originally founded in 1873 as a non-religion specific cemetery, where Freemasons, Romani, and German-speaking immigrants to Chicago could be buried without regard for religious affiliation. In 1969, it merged with the adjacent Forest Home Cemetery, founded at the same time, with the combined cemetery being called Forest Home (Waldheim means forest home in German).
Because it was unassociated with any religious institution, it was chosen as burial place of the Haymarket martyrs. After they were buried there, the cemetery became a place of pilgrimage for anarchists and leftists. Because of its role as a pilgrimage site for the international left, the Haymarket memorial there was the first cemetery memorial to be designated a National Historic Landmark.[citation needed] The Haymarket Martyrs' Monument by sculptor Albert Weinert is located here.
In homage to the Haymarket Martyrs, many other anarchists and socialists are buried at Waldheim, including:
The English part of the cemetery—that is, Forest Home—includes the graves of:
The cemetery is also the final resting place for several victims of the 1903 Iroquois Theater fire that killed over 600.
References
External links
See also
- List of cemeteries in Cook County, Illinois:
- Acacia Park Cemetery, Chicago
- Bohemian National Cemetery
- Graceland Cemetery
- Mount Olivet Cemetery
- Oak Woods Cemetery
- Rosehill Cemetery
- Westlawn Cemetery
Coordinates: 41°52′11″N 87°49′11″W / 41.8698°N 87.8198°W