A richly illustrated new book puts the destroyed synagogues of Upper Silesia, in southwest Poland, back on the map.
Called Synagogi na Górnym Śląsku (Synagogues in Upper Silesia), the book was published by the Gliwice Museum and its branch the Upper Silesian Jews House of Remembrance (which is located in the former Ceremonial Hall of the Jewish cemetery).
The book is freely available online as a downloadable PDF — a print version is being prepared. (It’s in Polish — but if you read it online, google translate can be used.)
Authored by Bożena Kubit, Przemysław Nadolski, and Jerzy Krzysztof Kos, the book uses old photographs, maps, and postcards to describe the synagogues — many of them monumental structures — that once stood in 45 towns and cities in the region.
As an article for the Leo Baeck Institute puts it, “Upper Silesia has a long and complicated history, having been ruled by a myriad of duchies, kingdoms, and nations each with different languages and customs.”
After World War I, the region was divided between Poland and Germany in a 1921 plebiscite. Most of the synagogues were torched on Kristallnacht in November 1938, or destroyed later. (Today Upper Silesia is mainly part of Poland, with a small part in Czech territory.)
Pictures in the book include the destruction process of some of the synagogues.
The book also includes information on the current use of the dozen synagogues whose buildings have survived — they range from a volunteer fire station to residences to movie houses to a sports hall to a TV studio.
It also includes chapters on the history and Jewish history of the region, as well as synagogue architecture.
Watch a trailer for the book:
Read online or download the PDF