Talk:Great Synagogue of Vilna

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[edit] Razed or restored?

The page presently states:

• ...The synagogue was partly destroyed by the Germans during World War II and after the war the synagogue and the whole “schulhof” complex which had grown around it was destroyed by the Soviet authorities and replaced by a kindergarten and basketball court. [italics mine - Ed.]
  

What is the source and validity of that latter statement? The Photo Archive of the Ghetto Fighters' House holds photographs (Cat. Nos. 44757/8/9) from February 1987 of construction work renovating the Great Synagogue of Vilna. -- Thank you, Deborahjay (talk) 09:17, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

This should be the Choral Synagogue, the only surviving in Vilnius. The Great one was razed to the ground and can only be rebuilt anew someday.Iulius (talk) 09:34, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

Indeed, the photo and caption on the History of the Jews in Lithuania page show the Khorshul, as seen also in the Encyclopedia Judaica vol. 16, p. 146, fig. 8.

• Caption: The Khorshul (choral synagogue) on Zavalna Street, built c. 1890, the only synagogue left in Vilna after the Holocaust, photographed in the 1960s.
  

Comparing these to the GFH Archive photos, the facade (pediment-topped central arch flanked by two rose windows) convinces me it's the same building. I'll bring this to the archive director's attention. I'll also see about creating a page for the Choral Synagogue, for good measure. -- Many thanks, Deborahjay (talk) 13:01, 24 December 2007 (UTC)