(JHE) — After a gradual, €12.6 million renovation process carried out over the three decades since the fall of communism, the former New Synagogue in Görlitz, in eastern Germany on the border with Poland, has reopened as a cultural center, the Kulturforum Görlitzer Synagoge, that officials hope will also help combat antisemitism.
State, local, and Jewish officials took part Monday in the opening ceremony, which had been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The large Star of David, which once topped the 33-metre tall tower and which was torn down by the Nazis, is due to be rebuilt and replaced in coming months.
At Monday’s ceremony, State Minister for Culture Monika Grütters said: “The Görlitz synagogue is shining again in new splendor and old beauty.
The federal government supported the renovation with around €2.8 million in order to provide space for a future-oriented encounter with the diversity and long tradition of Jewish life in Germany in this authentic place of remembrance. This is linked to our hope that a visit to the Görlitzer Synagogue Kulturforum inspires communication between different cultures in everyday life and encourages people to stand up against anti-Semitism wherever they experience it. “
The chairman of the Dresden Jewish Community, Michael Hurshell, called the restoration “a sign of hope, renewal and social cohesion for the Dresden Jewish Community. May this be a place for cultural encounters and history-conscious dialogue. “
Watch a youtube video showing the synagogue exterior and providing historic information, produced by today’s Jewish community in Görlitz
Designed by the Dresden architects William Lossow and Max Hans Kühne and built in 1910-1911, the synagogue, with an ornately decorated interior, was one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in modern Germany. It was the only one in the state of Saxony to survive the Kristallnacht pogroms of November 1938.
After WW2, the building stood empty under East Germany’s communist regime; it was sold to the city by the Dresden Jewish community in 1963. The city used it as a storage space for theatre sets.
The building’s deterioration progressed so far that demolition was considered in the 1970s, but was prevented by the intervention of the Institute for the Preservation of Monuments. Many different possible uses were considered in the coming years, but none of them were implemented.
Some restoration was carried out after the collapse of communism and reunification of Germany. Though still in poor condition, it opened as a culture center in 2008, on the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. In 2012, the federal government added it to the list of “architectural monuments of national importance.”
Funding for the restoration came from various sources, the city said:
The federal government and the Free State of Saxony, the German Foundation for Monument Protection, the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung together with the Sparkasse Oberlausitz-Lower Silesia Foundation, the ERDF-European Fund for Regional Development, the federal, state and municipal urban development funding, the Interreg program Poland -Saxony, the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony, the Old Town Foundation Görlitz, the EUROPA Haus e. V. as well as various private individuals.
Read the Görlitz city press release about the opening
2 comments on “Germany: The former New Synagogue in Görlitz reopens as Culture center after €12.6 million restoration process over the past three decades”
May G-d bless the Jewish community of Görlitz. May you grow, thrive and be strong. Shalom to all of Germany.
Very moving to watch this film, and view the culmination of the restoration process. One branch of my family (Furst) came from Gorlitz. How can I learn more about the Jewish community there?