Former Synagogue In Heilbronn (1877 1938)
49 08 '24 "N 9 13' 19" E / 49.14, 9.22181
Heilbronn is a city in southern Germany , near the river Neckar , in the Land of Baden-Wrttemberg , 75 km east of Karlsruhe. Heilbronn currently has a population of 120 000 inhabitants.
The synagogue was built in 1877 completely destroyed by the Nazis in 1938.
Summary |
After being there despite the numerous pogroms throughout much of the Middle Ages , the Jews were expelled permanently from the city by the city council in 1476.
They can not return in the first half of the nineteenth century. In 1857 , there were 20 Jewish families joined to 1861 by 17 families from the Rhineland. An independent community is formed and the first synagogue was dedicated in 1877 after a bitter controversy over the installation of an organ. A controversy over violent in 1910 on the cremation causes a split and the founding of the Orthodox community Jeshurun.
Jews are well integrated and accepted in the public life of Heilbronn. They participate actively in the economic activity of the city. They have factories textiles , to furniture , to leather and footwear , as well as major distilleries who will receive prizes in Paris and Vienna. They dominate the trade of cattle , the sheep and horses.
In 1885 , the Jewish population amounts to 994 people on a total of 27 758 inhabitants, about 3.5% of the population total in 1933 , there are more than 790 Jews with a total population of 77 569 inhabitants , 1% of the population. But on a total of 534 establishments industrial or commercial, 149 are held by Jews or 28%, significantly higher number to the size of the community, which only exacerbates the antisemitism of the population. In addition, Jews are found in large numbers in the professions, doctors or lawyers.
The synagogue
In 1873 , the Jewish community supported the architect Adolf Wolff to make plans for the new synagogue in Heilbronn. He previously built the synagogue of Stuttgart ( one thousand eight hundred fifty-nine - 1 861 ) and that of Ulm ( 1870 -1873). The synagogue was built in the style eclectic , very popular at that time, mixing shapes Moorish in horseshoe arch with ornaments stalactites of Mudejar art as well as capitals and pilasters classics.
The synagogue was inaugurated on 8 June 1877 , and reflects its magnificent prosperity of the Jewish community.
Exterior
The building was built facing the north-west to south-east in the direction of Jerusalem. It is designed like a basilica with a cross aisle main high, a transept and aisles less tall.
The roof above the transept is flat and crowned with four small domes, each located at one corner of the roof. Above the transept is a drum with twelve cylindrical windows illuminating the interior of the synagogue, the central dome topped by glistening, covered with copper green patina. The entrance facade is embellished, on both sides of the gate , two skylights ornamental each surmounted by a small dome. This abundance of domes must recall the architecture Persian or Indian as the Taj Mahal.
Above the gate is engraved in Hebrew a quote from the book of Isaiah (Chapter 56-7):
- (My house is a place of prayer for all peoples)
On the front, a large rose window and around the building with many windows embellished with small rosettes natural lighting inside the synagogue
Interior
Through the portal, you first enter a vestibule with columns and then in the main aisle of the synagogue are located 34 rows of benches for the men. The transept is reserved for women with 33 beds. Below the dome hangs a huge chandelier in brass with 80 light sources. The dome itself is based on half-Romanesque-style columns.
Above the entrance is a large organ with 32 registers. In contrast, the Holy Ark , with the scrolls of the Torah and in front, raised a few steps, the Bimah (altar). Two candelabra with seven branches , one on each side of the Ark decorate the interior.
The fiftieth anniversary
On 21 May 1927 , a mass is celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of the synagogue, followed by an evening gala. During the ceremony , Dr. Gumbel delivered a speech already full of disillusionment:
In 1877, Destruction
Curiously, while the night of 9 to 10 November 1938 , known as Kristallnacht , thousands of places of worship, schools and Jewish institutions were ransacked and burned in all of Germany , nothing happens in Heilbronn. Only the next day at six o'clock in the morning as Nazis , members of the SA , dressed in civilian clothes, set fire to the synagogue after it drenched in gasoline.
And as reported, so the firefighters , the crowd is an obstacle to prevent them from extinguishing the fire , and even managed to grab their pump and uses it to activate the fire. The synagogue was soon a huge blaze.
Retrieving objects of worship
During the night before the fire, a number of items liturgical have been saved. A portion of the Torah scrolls, richly ornamented with precious stones and the fire escapes and is currently in a synagogue in Baltimore in the United States.
Shaving the ruins
The ruins of the synagogue remains in the state for almost two years until the council meeting of Heilbronn 23 February 1940 where the Mayor Heinrich Gltig decides to use the land to expand the station nearby. The remains are then shaved, and the stones of the synagogue used to build the cellar to the fruits of art school youth.
National Socialism
On 10 November 1938, not only the synagogue was burned, but also a place of worship for the community Jeshurun, community center and school Jewish. Jewish schools and several houses were also destroyed. The Jewish cemetery was desecrated.
From 1938, the Nazis confiscated the property, Jewish homes and businesses as part of their policy of Aryanization. In November 1938, 353 Jews of Heilbronn have already gone to 30 different countries. In 1941 , their number reached 603 by leaving the city, including 238 from other countries to Europe , 170 to the United States and 105 to Palestine.
The fate of those remaining is unfortunately dramatic: The 1 December 1941, a convoy deported 49 people to the Jewish ghetto of Riga (all perish). In April 1942 , 16 were sent to Izbica in Poland and 52 to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. 56 other Jewish residents who fled Heilbronn are arrested in other cities in Germany and 22 were arrested as they had hoped to find refuge in another European country before the invasion by the Germans.
Memorial Dome
plaque commemorating the destruction of the synagogueMemorials
On 9 November 1966 , a commemorative plaque was unveiled to commemorate the destruction of the synagogue. This plaque is located on the road leading to the synagogue.
In 1993 was inaugurated the " Memorial of the Dome "structure of the artist Bettina Brkle and its metal frame, symbolizing the dome in flames from the synagogue. This sculpture is located in the street outside a cinema at the site of the synagogue
Gallery
The synagogue in Heilbronn in 1894
Image of the synagogue in 1877
Watch postcard showing the synagogue
Old colorized postcard showing the synagogue
Construction plan of the synagogue in 1879
Bibliography
- (DE) Mayer, Oskar: Die Geschichte der Juden in Heilbronn. Jubilumsfestschrift zum 50 jhrigen bestehen der Heilbronner Synagoge. (History of the Jews of Heilbronn - Commemorative Booklet of the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the synagogue in Heilbronn in 1927
- (De) Krusemarck, Gtz: Die Juden in Heilbronn. Heilbronn 1938 (The Jews in Heilbronn)
- (De) Hans Franke: Geschichte und Schicksal der Juden in Heilbronn. Vom Mittelalter bis zur Zeit der nationalsozialistischen Verfolgungen (1050-1945). (History and Fate of Jews in Heilbronn, the Middle Ages to the hunt for the National Socialist period 1050-1945) Archives of the city of Heilbronn, 1963, ISBN 3-928990-04-7
- (De) Angerbauer, W. u. Frank: Jdische Gemeinden in Kreis und Stadt Heilbronn (The Jewish community in the city and the region Heilbronn) Landkreis Heilbronn
References
- (De) This article is partially or entirely from the article in German entitled " Heilbronner Synagoge Alte "(see the list of authors )
- (De) Alemannia-Judaica [1] Heilbronn Synagogue
- (De) Alemannia-Judaica [2] The new Jewish chapel Heilbronn
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