Jewish Heritage Europe

Kaliningrad/Königsberg synagogue addendum — a pre-WW2 ex libris depicts the synagogue

In response to our post about the new near-replica synagogue in Kaliningrad, Russia (formerly Königsberg, East Prussia), JHE friend Prof. Carsten Wilke of Central European University has sent us this image of a book plate (ex libris) that features a … continue reading →

Russia: New near replica synagogue in Kaliningrad/Königsberg now stands on site of synagogue destroyed on Kristallnacht

  Exactly 80 years after the grandiose New Synagogue in Kaliningrad, Russia — formerly Königsberg, East Prussia — was destroyed on Kristallnacht, a newly constructed near replica of the great domed building was dedicated on the same spot where the … continue reading →

Book Review: Learning about Jewish Life (and Lives) from Jewish cemeteries. Review essay of Rudolf Klein’s new book

  Jewish cemeteries are often called Houses of the Living, and for good reason. The epitaphs and grave markers — be they simple matzevot or grand mausolea — represent, and tell the stories of, the people they memorialize. They speak … continue reading →

Kristallnacht: Wonderful surviving — and restored — synagogues to mark the 80th anniversary

  By now it’s a JHE tradition. The night of November 9-10 marks the  80th anniversary of the so-called Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938, when the Nazis launched coordinated violent attacks on Jews, Jewish property and Jewish places of worship all … continue reading →