Great Synagogue (Łódź) - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Great Synagogue, Łódź) Destroyed Reform Jewish synagogue in Łódź, Poland

For similarly named synagogues, see Great Synagogue.

Great Synagogue
Polish: Wielka Synagoga w Łodzi
Photograph of the former synagogue, 1930s
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue (1887–1939)
Status	Destroyed
Location
Location	Łódź, Łódź Voivodeship
Country	Poland
Location of the destroyed synagogue in Łódź Voivodeship
Geographic coordinates	51°46′12″N 19°27′14″E / 51.77000°N 19.45389°E / 51.77000; 19.45389
Architecture
Architect(s)	Adolf Wolff
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Romanesque Revival
Funded by	Izrael Poznański Joachim Silberstein Karol Scheibler
General contractor	Johann Steck
Groundbreaking	1881
Completed	1887
Destroyed	November 14, 1939
Specifications
Dome(s)	Four
Materials	Bricks

The Great Synagogue of Łódź (Polish: Wielka Synagoga w Łodzi) was a former Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Łódź, in the Łódź Voivodeship of Poland. Designed by Adolf Wolff in the Romanesque Revival style and completed in 1887, the synagogue served as a house of prayer until World War II when it was destroyed by Nazis on November 14, 1939.

History

The synagogue was commonly referred to as The Temple.

Prominent Łódż builder and architect Johann Steck (or Jan Sztek, 1851–1914) carried out construction of the synagogue between 1881 and 1887, at the corner of ul. Zielona and al. Tadeusza Kościuszki (formerly ul. Spacerowa). The construction was funded principally by local industrialists, including Izrael Poznański, Joachim Silberstein and Karol Scheibler.

The synagogue was burned to the ground by the Nazis on the night of November 14, 1939, along with its Torah scrolls and interior fixtures. The building was dismantled in 1940 and the site was subsequently used as a parking lot.

Other synagogues destroyed by the Nazis in Łódź included the Stara Synagogue, on November 15–16, 1939, and the Ezras Izrael Synagogue, also in November 1939. Scorched walls were demolished in March 1940.

Gallery

Synagogue interior
The former synagogue in 1939
Commemoration stone on the former site
Obituary of Johann Steck

References

Dobroszycki, Lucjan; Lourie, Richard (1987). The Chronicle of the Lodz Ghetto, 1941-1944. Yale University Press. p. 28.
Stefański, Krzysztof (2009). Ludzie Ktory Zbudwali Łódż. Leksykon architektów i budowniczych miasta (in Polish). Łódź: Księży Młyn Dom Wydawniczy. pp. 161–162. ISBN 978-83-61253-44-0.
^ Huberband, Shimon (1989). "The Destruction of the Synagogues in Lodz". In Adelson, A.; Lapidus, R.; et al. (eds.). Łódź Ghetto: Inside a Community Under Siege. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)