The modernist Reichenbachstrasse synagogue in Munich has reopened following a years-long restoration process.
With an emotional speech at the dedication ceremony Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appeared to fight back tears as he decried the antisemitism that has surged since October 7, 2023 and vowed to fight its “old and new” forms.
Designed by the 30-year-old architect Gustav Meyerstein, the synagogue, which stands in a courtyard hidden from the street, was built in modernist Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) style and opened in September 1931 — just two years before Hitler came to power.
Severely damaged on Reichspogromnacht (Kristallnacht) in 1938 and further damaged by bombing during World War II, it was restored and reopened in 1947 and served for decades as the synagogue used by the Munich Jewish community.
It was closed after the modern new synagogue, Ohel Jakob, was dedicated in 2006 as part of a complex including a JCC and the Munich Jewish Museum, and has since fallen into disrepair.
The multimillion euro renovation, funded by the city, state, and federal government, was spearheaded by the prominent Jewish cultural activist Rachel Salamander.
As far as possible it preserves the original red and turquoise colors and design.
It will be used as a cultural space as well as for services — the first guided tour of the restored building, scheduled for September 28 and led by Rachel Salamander, has long been booked out.
In his speech, Merz said he was ashamed of the new surge of antisemitism both as German chancellor “but also as a German, as a child of the post-war generation, as a child who grew up with ‘never again’ as a mission, as a duty, as a promise.”
He said that in politics and society “a blind eye” had been turned on the fact that many immigrants to Germany in recent decades “were socialized in countries of origin where anti-Semitism is virtually state doctrine, where hatred of Israel is taught even to children.”
He said he hoped that Jewish life in Germany will one day no longer need police protection.
“We must not get used to the fact that this has apparently been necessary for decades,” he said. “I therefore declare war on all forms of old and new anti-Semitism in Germany on behalf of the entire federal government of the Federal Republic of Germany.”
Read excerpts of the speech in English on DPA
Watch a report on the ceremony and Merz’s speech, with English translation:
Watch more of the ceremony — but beware — the AI-generated translation is very weird.