The New Görlitz Synagogue is a miracle of survival. The 600-seat Jewish house of prayer was opened in 1911. Its magnificent blend of neoclassical architecture and Art Nouveau interior was set on fire during Kristallnacht, but the structure wasn’t destroyed. Its owners, the members of the Görlitz Jewish community, were dispersed, arrested, annihilated - but despite all crises the synagogue survived the next 80 years. With its later owners - the Nazis, the Soviets, the Jewish Community of Dresden, then the City of Görlitz. With no Jewish community left in Görlitz, the synagogue often faced scandalous ideas about what should be done with the building.
With a contribution by Alexandra Klei
Look into the book
"Thus, this house should be a witness to how we connect past and present in life here and from here outside and thus pave the way for the future. [...] And when we are long gone and this house still bears witness to His love and His people's faithfulness, O, let it bear witness to our descendants how their parents believed in You, worshipped You in humility. Then let our children 'build themselves up in love on the deeds of the fathers, propagate their seeds, trust in the ancient ground.' Amen!"
From the inaugural sermon by Rabbi Dr. Siegfried Freund at the dedication of the synagogue on March 7, 1911
"For the first time, a publication befitting the Görlitz synagogue is dedicated to it: Alex Jacobowitz presents an opulently designed and generously illustrated book full of moving stories, many of which were previously barely known or not known at all. In pictures and text, the large-format and weighty volume presents a unique testimony to Jewish cultural history, which is also an outstanding architectural monument of the Reform style of European significance. Although it survived the pogrom night of 1938, it then lay dormant in decay and oblivion for far too long. With the present book, the Görlitz synagogue, which has just been restored to its former glory, is honored and made known far beyond the local and regional environment with great vividness and in an exceedingly diverse manner."
Dr. Marius Winzeler, Director of the Grüne Gewölbe and the Armory at the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD)
