The Old Synagogue () was a former
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
congregation and
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, located in
Dortmund
Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...
, in the state of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Completed in 1900, the synagogue was abandoned in 1933 and demolished in 1938. Prior to its abandonment, the synagogue was the largest synagogue and cultural center of the Jewish community in Dortmund.
History
The synagogue was opened in 1900. With a capacity of 1,300 seats it was one of the largest Jewish houses of worship in Germany.
After the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
gained power in 1933, the local government forced the Jewish community to sell the property and decided to demolish the synagogue.
The proceeds from the sale were seized by the Nazi regime. Demolition works began a few weeks before the ''
Kristallnacht
( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...
'' and were finished in December 1938.
In 1958–1965 the new
Opernhaus Dortmund
Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, operated by the Theater Dortmund organisation. A new opera house opened in 1966, replacing an earlier facility which opened in 1904 and was destroyed during World War II. It was built o ...
was built on the site where the synagogue once stood. Since 1998 the forecourt is officially known as ''Platz der Alten Synagoge'' ("Place of the Old Synagogue") and a memorial stone as well as a memorial plaque was erected.
See also
*
History of the Jews in Germany
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
*
List of synagogues in Germany
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
20th-century synagogues in Germany
Demolished buildings and structures in Dortmund
Former synagogues in Germany
Synagogues completed in 1900
Synagogues in North Rhine-Westphalia
1900 establishments in Germany
1938 disestablishments in Germany