Bonn New Synagogue
"These plans were changed, however, when a wealthy family purchased property on the same street and donated it for the construction of a new house of worship. Inaugurated on January 31, 1879, the synagogue was a magnificent edifice, built with no expense spared. In 1929, in honor of the synagogue’s 50th anniversary, the community undertook a massive renovation project, refurbishing the entire building. The most notable of the improvements was the new Torah Ark, which was enlarged to accommodate the synagogue’s 26 Torah scrolls. The ark, in fact, was the synagogue’s prominent feature. On Pogrom Night, SS hoodlums plundered the synagogue and set it ablaze while the fire department protected the neighboring homes; the fire was so intense that the synagogue burned to the ground. The rubble was removed in early 1939, after which the site became a parking lot. Years later, a hotel was built on the grounds of the destroyed synagogue. A memorial plaque has been unveiled at the site."
Moshe Finkel
Copyright: Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany/ Germansynagogues.com
Notes
Sources: Lexikon der jüdischen Gemeinde in Deutschen Sprachraum, Klaus Dieter-Alicke, [publisher] Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2008., Feuer in dein Heiligtum gelegt: Zerstörte Synagogen 1938 Nordrhein-Westfalen, Michael Brooke [Ed.], Meier Schwarz [foreword], [publisher] Kamp, 1999., Synagogen Internet Archiv, www.synagogen.info
Details
| Date Added | Feb 11, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Category | Synagogue |
| Country | DE |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| City | Bonn (Bonna) |
| Exhibits | Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany |
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