(JHE) — The former New Synagogue in Görlitz, which reopened last year as a cultural and religious centre after a lengthy renovation process is now topped again by a big Star of David for the first time since the original Star was torn down by the Nazis in November 1938.
A giant crane hoisted the 600-kilogram metal Star atop the synagogue’s 33-meter tall central tower on Monday.
Watch a video of the process, posted by Alex Jakobowitz, chair and cantor of the local Jewish community, which numbers around 30 members:
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.
It was rededicated in July 2021 as the cultural and religious center Kulturforum Görlitzer Synagoge, following a €12.6 million renovation process carried out over the three decades since the fall of communism. The Kulturforum hosts a range of cultural and interfaith activities. Local Jews have the use of a small prayer room in the complex.
Creating and erecting the Star of David was funded by 25 donations that raised around €81,000, according to a news release by the city.
Read our July 2021 post about the reopening of the synagogue