Great Synagogue, Warsaw

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Great Synagogue of Warsaw
Wielka Synagoga w Warszawie

Great Synagogue in the 1910s

Basic information
Location Warsaw, Poland
Affiliation Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Destroyed May 16, 1943
Architectural description
Architect(s) Leander Marconi
Completed 1878
Specifications

The Great Synagogue of Warsaw was the largest synagogue of pre-war Warsaw and one of the largest in the world at the time.

History

Model of synagogue in Beth Hatefutsoth, the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, Tel-Aviv

The Great Synagogue was built by the Warsaw's Jewish community between 1875 and 1878 at Tłomackie street, in the south-eastern tip of the district in which the Jews were allowed to settle by the Russian Imperial authorities. The main architect was Leandro Marconi.

After the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, on May 16, 1943 the SS blew up the building. It was not rebuilt after the war.

SS-Gruppenführer Jürgen Stroop later recalled:

"What a marvelous sight it was. A fantastic piece of theater. My staff and I stood at a distance. I held the electrical device which would detonate all the charges simultaneously. Jesuiter called for silence. I glanced over at my brave officers and men, tired and dirty, silhouetted against the glow of the burning buildings. After prolonging the suspense for a moment, I shouted: 'Heil Hitler' and pressed the button. With a thunderous, deafening bang and a rainbow burst of colors, the fiery explosion soared toward the clouds, an unforgettable tribute to our triumph over the Jews. The Warsaw Ghetto was no more. The will of Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler had been done."[1]

Since the 1980s, the site has been occupied by a large skyscraper, once known as the Golden Skyscraper and currently commonly referred to as the Blue Skyscraper (Polish: Błękitny Wieżowiec).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kazimierz Moczarski (1981), Conversations with an Executioner, page 164.

External links

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Coordinates: 52°14′41″N 21°00′09″E / 52.244585°N 21.002398°E / 52.244585; 21.002398


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