Traces of Jewish life in Karlsruhe, Germany

I had a very intensive time in Karlsruhe at the beginning of this year, therefore I hardly was able to go off the beaten path and focus exclusively on the Jewish history of this big industrial city in the Western part of Germany. However, as usual fate was on my side and without too much effort was able to notice some fragments of Jewish history just on my way from a meeting with the local history and culture to another.

For instance, on Karlstraße 11, where nowadays there is a restaurant, it used to be the bank L. Homburger, belonging to one of the oldest families in Karlsruhe. The art nouveau influenced building was planned by the architects Robert Curjel and Karl Moser. After 1938, the bank was liquidated and took away by the state.

Another memorial remembers the synagogue destroyed in 1938, together with many other Jewish institutions. The Jews started to establish in Karlsruhe at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1725, here it was a synagogue, a mikve, a cemetery, and infirmary. After the partial emancipation decrees, here was established in 1809 the seat of the Central Council of Jews in Baden. From 1820s on, Jews were allowed to be work in the field of law and medicine. 

Stolpersteine in the memory of murdered Jews are visible all over the city: on Stephaniestraße, Rheinstraße...In October 22, 1940, 893 Jews were deported to Gurs, France. Others were sent to death between 1942-1945 to Izbica, Auschwitz or Theresienstadt. In 1945, there were 90 Jews left in Karlsruhe. Nowadays, there are less than 1,000 Jews here, served by a Chabad House and a synagogue, mostly originary from the former Soviet Union. 

Traces of Jewish Life in Görlitz, Germany

Call it the traveller's luck: You spontaneously decide to go to Görlitz and this is exactly the day when there is the open day visit of the main historical monuments in the colourful, Hollywood-loved town. This is how I had the chance to visit the Art Nouveau Synagogue on Otto-Müller Straße, that during my previous visit I've only seen from outside. 

From outside, the massive stoned synagogue looks like many others I've seen in Germany and Eastern Europe, typical constructions for the beginning of the 20th century. It looks like a temple, but it is rather a Greek one it reminds of, instead of the Temple from Jerusalem. The synagogue in Görlitz was inaugurated in March 11, 1911, being the few in Germany not damaged during WWII. I particularly loved the metal-lace intricacies near the main door, an interesting Moorish detail. 

Inside, the details are impressive and carefully chosen with golden inserts into black marble. The lightning also plays an important role in creating a special ambiance and amplifying the space. When we arrived, there were preparations for a concert, as the synagogue nowadays is used as a cultural space rather than a religious institution.

The ceiling offers a fascinating combination between the usual decorative elements of Art Nouveau and typical Biblical motives, such as the lions.

It also has a space for the choir, the typical element of a Reform synagogue, but this space can also be used as a women's section. Around me, other visitors were coming and going in a hurry, snapping pictures before heading up to the new open monument. I wanted to stay a bit more, trying to imagine how it was when the synagogue was ready to welcome the guests coming to pray for Shabbat or holidays.

This synagogue in Görlitz, a town where the presence of Jews is documented since the 13th century, is one of the many, and apparently not the most frequented, as shortly after the opening it seems that there were problems to gather the miniyan - the 10 men needed to pray. Most of the Jews living here were merchants, laywers or doctors, and traces of Jewish life still can be seen in many places around the town, including a cemetery, a mikveh - ritual bath - and houses that used to belong to Jews.