Old Synagogue (Potsdam)

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Potsdam synagogue on Wilhelmplatz , far left, next to the main post office building , 1945

The old synagogue in Potsdam was built according to plans by Otto Kerwien . After three years of construction, the synagogue was inaugurated on June 17, 1903.

history

The synagogue from 1768
Plaque

In 1801 the Jewish community in Potsdam had 32 families. In 1802, the first synagogue in Potsdam from 1768 at Wilhelmplatz was rebuilt, with the decoration and vedute painter Johann Friedrich Meyer depicted the first synagogue in a painting from 1773. The painting hangs in the New Chambers in Sanssouci . In 1895 the community already had 489 members when it was decided in 1898 to build a new building to replace the previous one. The first draft for a new building envisaged a sacred building in Romanesque architectural style, which, however , had been rejected by Kaiser Wilhelm II . This is how the new building was created in the neo-baroque style with a facade made of red sandstone . The synagogue had 154 male, 162 female and 6 official seats. In 1925 the community had 600 members.

The interior of the old synagogue in Potsdam was destroyed in the November pogrom in 1938, but the synagogue was not arson because of the neighboring post office . The neighboring post office took over the intact building and used the synagogue as a post lecture hall until it was severely damaged in the air raid on Potsdam on April 14, 1945. In 1954 the ruins were torn down and new residential buildings were built on the north side of Platz der Einheit . Today around 800 citizens of the Jewish faith live in Potsdam again. About 395 are represented in the community. About 70 percent of the members of the community are over 60 years old.

There is a memorial plaque that was attached to the house located on the synagogue:

“At this point stood the synagogue of the Jewish community in Potsdam. On the night of November 9th to 10th, 1938, it was plundered and destroyed by the fascists. "

  • The old synagogue Potsdam

  • The synagogue from 1802

See also

Web links

Commons : Alte Synagoge (Potsdam)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Evidence of Jewish culture. Erfurt 1992, ISBN 3-350-00780-5 , p. 105.

Coordinates: 52 ° 23 '53.4 "  N , 13 ° 3' 37"  E