The new Regional Museum in the small town of Susz, in northern Poland, has opened in the renovated, red brick former synagogue.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place September 24.
The project was undertaken by the local Galea Historical and Research Association, which was founded in 2017. In October 2019 Galea signed an agreement with the building’s owner, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ), allowing them to convert the synagogue into the new museum. Work began in early 2020.
As we wrote in July 2020, the synagogue in Susz (known as Rosenberg in German) was built in 1868 in the neo-Gothic style, when the town was part of Prussia (it was part of Germany after 1871 and became part of Poland at the end of WW2).
The building was used as a culture center in the decades after WW2, but had stood empty and in deteriorating condition since the 1990s.
The museum posted photos of the opening ceremony on its Facebook page.
The museum (still developing) includes artefacts, memorabilia, information panels, and other exhibits — including a model of the town as it looked in the 1930s.
Much of the material was contributed by local residents and volunteers.
Read our article about the project from July 2020
See the museum’s Facebook page — which documented the work
Read about the history of the synagogue on the Jews of East Prussia web site