Roonstrasse Synagogue, located in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, is the only surviving of the five synagogues of the city before the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

era.

History

The Jewish community in Cologne has the longest history in Germany, being first mentioned in 321. Expelled in 1424, the Jews did not return to Cologne until 1798. In 1815 the community numbered 150, growing to 8000 in 1895, and 18,281 by 1933, the largest in Germany after Berlin. The foundation stone of the

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style building, designed by Cologne architects Schreiterer & Below, was laid on October 23, 1895, and the inauguration took place on March 22, 1899. Like all the other synagogues on the city it was attacked and set alight on the night of November 9, 1938, known as

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...

, the nationwide attacks on Jewish businesses and synagogues. It was further damaged during

World War Two World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, with the front portion was completely destroyed leaving only the burnt out tower an
central section
Returned to the surviving Jewish community in 1945, in the late 1950s they decided to completely rebuild, as it was the only one not completely destroyed. The reconstruction was under the direction of the architect Helmut Goldschmidt, with minor changes on the outside and a simplified interior (with new leadlight windows by Lammers & Warzager), and was reopened on September 20, 1959. On Christmas Eve of that year, the Synagogue was smeared with anti-Jewish slogans by members of the far-right

Deutsche Reichspartei The Deutsche Reichspartei (DRP, ''German Reich Party'', ''German Imperial Party'' or ''German Empire Party'') was a nationalist, far-right and later Neo-Nazi political party in West Germany. It was founded in 1950 from the German Right Party (ger ...

. West German Chancellor

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...

, who had been mayor of Cologne from 1917 until removed by the Nazi government in 1933, made the desecration the subject in his New Year's speech. Since then it has been center of

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish community of Cologne, and consists of a community center, a small display of items associated with Cologne Jewry, and a kosher restaurant. The interior of the reconstructed synagogue has a vast blue dome. On August 19, 2005,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

visited Roonstrasse Synagogue. This visit was the second ever visit to any synagogue by any one of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

s. There, he condemned

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

Gallery

Image:Roonstrasse 1903.jpg, Postcard dated 1903 Image:Roonstrasse 1907.jpg, Postcard dated 1907 image:Köln Synagoge 1-2.jpg, Interior in 1899 Image:Synagoge Koeln5.jpg, April 2006 Image:Köln-Synagoge-Roonstraße-Innenansicht-001.JPG, Interior of the synagogue

External links

A page from the Time Magazine"Pope Warns of Increase in Anti-Semitism"WorldWide Religious News
David McHugh, August 19, 2005.

References

Synagogues in Cologne Synagogues in North Rhine-Westphalia Innenstadt, Cologne Orthodox synagogues in Germany Synagogues completed in 1899 Synagogues completed in 1959 Rebuilt synagogues Synagogue buildings with domes Synagogues destroyed during Kristallnacht (Germany) {{NorthRhineWestphalia-struct-stub

History

Gallery

See also

External links

References