Germany: Multiple Memorials for Berlin's Munchener Strasse Synagogue

Berlin, Germany. Image of the former Münchener Straße 37 on view in the Bayerischer Platz U-Bahn station. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016

Germany: Multiple Memorials for Berlin's Munchener Strasse Synagogue
by Samuel D. Gruber

In November 2016, I was in Berlin for a few days and had the chance to visit more Jewish and Holocaust-related historical and commemorative sites than usual. I've already posted about the Jewish cemetery on Grosse Hamburger Strasse and the monument and burial section at the Weissensee Cemetery for Jewish soldiers who died in World War I. Here's information on a lesser known commemorative site.

The domed synagogue at Münchener Straße 37 in the Schöneberg section of Berlin, designed by Jewish architect Max Fraenkel (1856-1926), was dedicated in 1910 and was at the center of a heavily Jewish neighborhood around Bayerischer Platz.  It was looted but not burned on Kristallnacht (November 9, 1938), but was subsequently damaged by aerial bombing during the war years, and  torn down in 1956. The synagogue, which was a transitional structure between historicism and modernism, was notable for its large dome, and as one of the more architecturally distinctive buildings in the largely residential neighborhood. The composer Kurt Weill had a job as the synagogue choir conductor for a few months in 1921. 

Today, there is a part of a school building on the synagogue site, but the synagogue is remembered in the neighborhood in various ways. Each memorial corresponds to a particular phase of Berlin's facing the past and acknowledge the Shoah. There is an official abstract street level monument (1960s), a student-built collaborative memorial (1990s) and recently an extensive photo exhibit underground in the nearby U-Bahn station.

At the school, the original synagogue outline is remembered through garden design and in 1994-95 students erected a memorial brick wall on the school grounds to remember local Jews who lived in Berlin-Schöneberg. According to school officials,"the idea was based on the artist Horst Hoheisel from Kassel who gave stimulus on his "memorial from down below" in the framework of the 6th grade teaching lesson "National Socialism".

Berlin, Germany. Löcknitz Primary School on site of the synagogue at Münchener Straße 37. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016.

In front of the school and near the street is a more traditional monument, designed in a cubist style by Gerson Fehrenbach in 1963. It declares: "Hier stand der 1909 erbauten synagoge der jüdischen Gemeinde" (Here stood the Synagogue of the Jewish Community built in 1909).

Berlin, Germany. Monument to destroyed at synagogue at Münchener Straße 37. Gerson Fehrenbach, arch., 1963. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016.

Berlin, Germany. Monument to destroyed at synagogue at Münchener Straße 37. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016.

A plaque beneath gives further information about the fate of the building.  

Hier stand von 1909-1956 eine Synagoge. Sie wurde während der Reichspogromnacht
am 9. Nov. 1938 wegen ihrer Lage in einem
Wohnhaus nicht zerstört.
Nach der Vertreibung und Vernichtung
der jüdischen Mitbürgerinnen und Mitbürger
durch die Nationalsozialisten verlor sie
ihre Funktion und wurde 1956 abgerissen.”

In the nearby U-Bahn station there is a extensive photo exhibition on the history of the neighborhood. Since it was a heavily Jewish district in the interwar period, there is are many images of the synagogue and of prominent Jews who lived nearby. When I visited the station in November 2016, the former synagogue - already destroyed once - was suffering the indignity of having a temporary construction barrier interrupting the view of its full facade.
 

Berlin, Germany. images of the former Münchener Straße 37 on view in the Bayerischer Platz U-Bahn station, with a construction barrier further "destroying" the synagogue today. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016

Berlin, Germany. Image of the memorial wall constricted by local students on the site the former Münchener Straße 37. Photo on view in the Bayerischer Platz U-Bahn station. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016

Berlin, Germany. Image of the memorial wall constricted by local students on the site the former Münchener Straße 37. Photo on view in the Bayerischer Platz U-Bahn station. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016.

Bayerischer Platz neighborhood, including Münchener Straße, is also the location of the noteworthy "Places of Remembrance," (Orte des Erinnerns) project designed by artists Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock and installed in 1993.  The memorial, which consists of 80 signs which flatly state the dates and essence of laws promulgated by the Nazis in the 1930s to curb the rights of Jews.  This project remains one of the most thought provoking Holocaust commemorative installations anywhere - if one takes the time to look.

Berlin, Germany. Bayerischer Platz and "Places of Remembrance," (Orte des Erinnerns) project designed by Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016.

ABerlin, Germany. Bayerischer Platz and "Places of Remembrance," (Orte des Erinnerns) project designed by Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016.

Berlin, Germany. Bayerischer Platz and "Places of Remembrance," (Orte des Erinnerns) project designed by Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2016.

Judaica Europeana Provides a Unified Digital Presence for Judaica Collections

Nothing beats visiting a museum in person, as these visitors to Manchester's Jewish museum learn firsthand, but someday soon Judaica Europeana might be the next best thing. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber

Judaica Europeana Provides a Unified Digital Presence for Judaica Collections

Judaica Europeana is a growing network of Jewish museums, libraries and archives which have joined to present a unified digital presences to highlight the strengths of their collections. So far twenty-three institutions in 17 cities have joined forces to provide integrated online access to Jewish collections. These include the Jewish museums of Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankurt and Toledo as well as London’s Ben Uri Gallery. The National Library of Israel will strengthen Judaica’s technical expertise and provide access to its collections. The Center for Jewish History in New York, which includes outstanding collections on Jewish life in Europe such as those of YIVO and Leo Baeck Institute, will complement the content held in Europe.

I hope I'll be able to use Judaica Europeana to getter better images than this one, which I took a few years ago without flash at the Budapest Jewish Museum. photograph: Samuel Gruber.

The Paris Yiddish Centre-Medem Library which has been associated with the project from an early stage, will provide among other things, a remarkable collection of Yiddish music. The Steinheim Institute in Duisburg has a very large database of Jewish tombstones and important photographic archives. The Spanish Ministry of Culture and the Sefardi Museum in Toledo will provide valuable content from their collections. See a full list of Partners at www.judaica-europeana.eu/partners.html

Judaica Europeana is one of a series of initiatives supported by the European Commission’s eContentplus programme that harvest and aggregate content for EUROPEANA, Europe's museums, libraries and archives online. A prototype which features 14 million items online can be accessed on www.europeana.eu. A fully operational version will become available later in 2011. Judaica Europeana is co-funded by the European Commission under the eContentplus programme, as part of the i2010 policy.

The project is just the latest in an still-evolving pan-European community of Jewish culture. In the past decade we have the slow but still struggling efforts of the Association of European Jewish Museums and also the highly popular annual Day of Jewish Culture. Judaica Europeana aims to create the most visible type of product from such international culture efforts - namely to show shared collections of Judaica to everyone, all the time, online. If successful the project will trample those last remaining cultural borders in Europe - recognizing that historically and now in contemporary terms, the Jewish people and Jewish culture are trans-national. The great strength of the site appears to be its intent and ability to house thousands of images. The weakness will be one shared with many websites - that there will be limited depth of information and analysis. For web-designers, seeing is often believing. Still, having such a big image library handy will be a boon to many.

Budapest, Hungary. Jewish Museum. Photo: Samuel Gruber

The project, however, dramatically demonstrates again the great divide that still exists in vision, organization, and technical resources between institutions in the old "West" - may of which receive state aid - and the struggling institutions in the former Soviet block. Twenty years after Communism only a few institutions such as the Prague Jewish Museum and the Jewish Historical Institute have been able to compete in competence with the old centers of London, Paris, and Berlin. A few centers, such as Budapest are also now emerging as major exhibition and research centers (on Budapest link to the JE newsletter below). Sadly, there are still many "orphaned" institutions in former "East" that most need to catalog, digitize and publish their collections. I hope that Judaica Europeana will extend a helping hand to institutions large and small.

Two views form the Amsterdam Jewish Historical Museum. Video can be watch online at home, but old synagogues are best understood in the spaces, moving around, turning this way and that, and experiencing passing time and shifting light. Ah, but how many musuem goers work that hard? Photos: Samuel Gruber.

According to Judaica Europeana, its strength "lies in the diversity and richness of its cross-domain offerings. Users will find at their fingertips ― only a few clicks away ― books, documents and manuscripts along with images, film and sound recordings on almost any subject. Everyone will be able to integrate this material in virtual exhibitions or in learning resources. The APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) developed by Europeana will allow the distribution of these resources directly into the workflow of the users, on PCs and mobile devices. This vast Jewish content resource will become progressively available online during 2011 and will continue to grow in the coming years."

The new Judaica Europeana illustrated newsletter is out and presents highlights from the collections of Frankfurt University and the Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam, two virtual exhibits from Budapest and Athens and some papers given at the EAJS Congress in Ravenna. It can be viewed here.

Philanthropy: Rothschild Foundation (Europe) Accepting Proposals for Jewish Heritage

Philanthropy: Rothschild Foundation (Europe) Accepting Proposals for Jewish Heritage Grants

The Rothschild Found (Europe) has for much of the past decade been the quiet support of Jewish heritage projects in Europe. Foundation grants have been critical in all many of ways, but especially as catalyst money for new initiatives in Jewish heritage and in Jewish academic studies. Rothschild was a major supporter of conferences in Prague (2004) and Bratislava (2009) in which I was involved, and it has supported scores of projects to help museums, archives and historic sites - especially those managed by struggling Jewish communities.

Now the Foundation has reorganized - moving from London back to its origins at the Rothschild estate in Waddesdon. There has been staff turnover in the move, but the primary mission has not changed. The heritage mission has, in fact, been strengthened. The foundation is now more public and for the first time has launched a website with a public call for applications. It is a two-part process and those seeking grants now need to get in a first inquiry by September 13th.

Go to the website for eligibility requirements and information on applying for project support.

This tgext comes form the website:

Rothschild Foundation
http://www.rothschildfoundation.eu/

The Rothschild family has a long tradition of philanthropy, starting with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812) and his five sons. From the very beginning their philanthropy was concerned with ensuring equal opportunities for disadvantaged groups across Europe. Other areas of support have included health care, housing and education. The Rothschild Foundation (Europe) continues this philanthropic tradition under the Chairmanship of Lord Rothschild and during the last ten years, we have supported a range of educational, cultural, heritage and community-based initiatives in over 40 European countries. From September 2010, we will be focusing our activities in academic Jewish studies and Jewish heritage

Honouring, celebrating and learning about the history and culture of Jews throughout Europe can be done in so many ways. Our Jewish Heritage programme focuses on the archives, museums and historic buildings reflecting Jewish life in order to help create and sustain an active interest in the Jewish heritage of Europe. Specialist support for archives and museums is offered and communities are encouraged to apply for research and educational projects that use Jewish heritage as a means of engaging a broad spectrum of people in discovering more about Jewish life.

Slovakia: Grand 9-Bay Plan Stupava Synagogue gets a Facelift

Slovakia: Stupava Synagogue Gets a Facelift (and More)
by Samuel D. Gruber



(ISJM) Participants in the recent Bratislava Seminar on Care, Conservation and Maintenance of Historic Jewish Properties were treated to a visit to the grand early 19th century synagogue of Stupava (German: Stampfen; Hungarian: Stomfa), which after decades of neglect and ruin has receive a facelift thanks to the efforts of preservationist Tomas Stern, a member of the Board of the nearby-Bratislava Jewish Community (who is also a plastic surgeon).

According to Maros Borsky, Director of the Slovak Jewish Heritage Center, who organized the visit: "The synagogue was built in 1803 by a prominent Jewish Community of the pre-emancipation period that resided in a serf-town belonging to the Counts Palffy, of Stupava. From the architectural standpoint, the synagogue belongs to the most precious Jewish heritage sites in Slovakia, one of two last extant nine-bay synagogues. There has been no Jewish community in Stupava since the Second World War and the synagogue passed through various private ownerships, an eventually was in total disrepair. In the early 2000s, the synagogue was acquired by the NGO Jewrope, associated with Dr. Tomas Stern, a Bratislava-based businessman and board member of the Bratislava Jewish Community. Jewrope and Dr. Stern have managed to save the building from collapse by stabilizing the structure, replacing the roof and complete restoration of exteriors. The next planned restoration stage includes interior works, planned to be completed within next three years. The synagogue will serve then as a central archive and book storage of the Slovak Jewish community. A small exhibition of the local Jewish history is foreseen."

As an aside, I am happy to say that ISJM recognized Dr. Stern's dedication many years ago when he was still a medical student - whose weekend passion was the search for abandoned synagogues in Slovakia, which he photographed. Jewrope plans to create in the main space of the synagogue a permanent exhibition about the Jewish history of Stupava, as well as cultural and social space to serve the needs of the general public and the Jewish community.

So far, the project has received support from Jewrope, the Culture Ministry of Slovakia, The Slovak Gas Industry grant scheme, and the World Monuments Fund. Dr. Borsky and Dr. Stern arranged for the building to be included on the Slovak Jewish Heritage Route.

As the attached photos indicate, not much of the original decor of the synagogue remains, but the spas are all intact. Discussions are ongoing about what level of conservation and restoration to apply to the interior walls. Traces of at least two phases of painting can be seen - but the most plentiful and visible decorative patters probably date from the late 19th or early twentieth century. The photos also show numerous examples of old and new temporary patching used to consolidate plasterwork. These will obviously be replaced or improved upon in the final project.

The most ambitious part of the plan is to create a Jewish archive in the upper story of the building, above the vaults but under the capacious roof. This would depend on the creation of a self-supporting structure and the addition of an exterior entrance way for access and safety. Jewrope is working with architects and engineers on these plans which, in the end, will be dependent on technological feasibility (likely) and cost (still unknown).

Meanwhile, the Jewish Community of Bratislava and the town of Stupava are negotiating trying to resolve property ownership claims. The building was sold to a private individual before the restitution process began. Jewrope now owns and building, but not the land on which it sits. Resolution of land ownership needs to be completed before any large investment in infrastructure can begin for the synagogue - no matter what its future use. Dr. Stern, who rose from a sickbed to greet the seminar participants, is committed to getting the project done, and the Bratislava Community supports the effort. In time, Stupava may become again an important Jewish culture center.

Contributions can be sent to Jewrope, at Karpatská 8, 811 05 Bratislava, tel.: 02/52 45 11 12, 0905 600 873, or by contacting ISJM.

Europe: September 7th set for European Day of Jewish Culture

Visitors to Jewish sites in Florence, Italy on European Day of Jewish Culture, 2003
photos: Samuel D. Gruber

Europe: September 7th set for European Day of Jewish Culture

(ISJM) This year’s European Day of Jewish Culture has been set for September 7, 2008. The day is a celebration of Jewish heritage sites and culture across Europe and is now observed in 30 countries. Developed following a program in Alsace that arranged for dozens of usually inaccessible synagogues, former synagogues and cemeteries to be open to the public, the Day of Jewish Culture now includes almost every conceivable type of cultural event including lectures, concerts, tours, and seminars. But access to Jewish sties for a wide (and mostly local public) and instruction about them remains at the heart of the celebration.

This year, the theme is “Testimonies”, chosen to highlight the cultural “imprint” left by the Jews wherever they have lived in Europe. Thus, the Cultural Day unites those places which retain active Jewish communities and those Jewish spaces without Jews.

Participating countries include Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom. In past years throughout Europe as many as 1,000 volunteers joined to organize and coordinate events.

The official program for the day is posted as it is developed, at www.jewisheritage.org

Each country arranges its day differently. For some, it is the only time that certain places are open. Elsewhere, the Day is used to draw attention to otherwise little-known sites that are now accessible year-round.

Since 2004, the event has being co-organized by B’nai B’rith Europe, the European Council of Jewish Communities and Red de Juderías de España. For more information: www.jewisheritage.org; details of the events online from June 2007 onwards.

Restoration of Baroque Synagogue in Jičín (Czech Republic) complete

Restoration of Baroque Synagogue in Jičín (Czech Republic) complete.

By Samuel D. Gruber (ISJM)
(June 20. 2008)

Following nearly eight years (2001-2008) the restoration of the magnificent Baroque synagogue in Jičín, North Bohemia (Czech Republic) is complete. The Prague Jewish Community will officially open the building to the public on Thursday, June 19, 2008. The restoration project is part of a continuing effort by the Czech Jewish Community to reclaim, protect and preserver its historic, cultural and artistic heritage.

A Jewish settlement is known to have existed in Jičín in the second half of the 14th century, but Jews were expelled from the town in 1542-45 and again in 1557-63. The now-restored synagogue was erected in 1773, more than a century after Jews are known to have been readmitted to the town. According to Dr. Arno Pařík of the Prague Jewish Museum, "this is an exceptionally pure example of a small, late Baroque synagogue." It is a rectangular building, approximately 12.5 meters long and 8.2 meters wide, with a fairly high saddle roof over a barrel-vault, supported on traverse arches and 90 cm. thick walls. The sanctuary is well-lit by three tall arched windows on the south and north walls. Smaller windows are set in the west (façade) and east walls, the latter dominated by the well-preserved masonry Ark, flanked by twisted columns. The vivid wall paintings – mostly in reds and blues – have been restored to their 1840 appearance.

These photos taken in May 2008 near the end of restoration work are provided by Dr. Arno Pařík and the Jewish Museum of Prague. Additional photos of the restored building will be posted soon at www.isjm.org

The building is now one of best preserved late Baroque synagogues remaining in Central Europe.

The restoration of the synagogue was supervised by engineer Mojmír Malý at Matana a.s., Administration of Buildings and Cemeteries. Heritage supervision is provided by the Zecher Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Monuments through Dr. Arno Pařík, and the National Heritage Institute – specialist department in Pardubice. Financing has been provided by the Jewish Community of Prague, the Czech Ministry of Culture, the District Authority of Hradec Králové, and the Municipal Government of Jičín. Financial support for the synagogue renovation has also been provided by the Jewish Heritage Program and World Monuments Fund.

A Torah scroll from Jicin is now in the possession of Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland, Massachusetts (USA).

For more on the history and architecture of the building see Arno Pařík, "History and Renovation of Jičín Synagogue," Judaica Bohemiae (40/2004), 104-122.