The liberal synagogue in “Fasanenstrasse” (pheasant street) in Charlottenburg was inaugurated in 1912. It was the first large synagogue outside of old Berlin. It announced the self-confidence of the liberal Jewish citizens: No longer hidden in the back yard like many other synagogues, it was, like the New Synagogue in Oranienburgerstrasse, a highly visible, architectonically distinct and richly decorated symbol of Jewish emancipation in the cityscape.
From the early 1930s onwards, anti-Semitic provocations took place in the vicinity of this synagogue, notably the Kurfürstendamm riot of 1931 and the Kurfürstendamm riot of 1935. The synagogue was already forced to be closed in 1936 and was was set on fire during the November 1938 pogroms (Reichskristallnacht). The fire department’s only action was to prevent the flames from spreading to neighbouring houses. The remains of the building were further destroyed in 1943 during Allied air raids and demolished in 1957.
“The night of November 9th to 10th and November 10th, 1938, cannot be erased from memory by anyone who saw the unleashed underworld rise from the abyss. With clubs and long poles, howling and laughing, they broke into the shops, offices and apartments of the Jewish residents on Kurfürstendamm, in its side streets and in Tauentzienstrasse. As if out of the ground, hundreds of young boys suddenly appeared, who could only be recognized by their SA origins through their high boots, spread out according to a fixed plan on both sides of the Kurfürstendamm and smashed the large shop windows of the Jewish shops. Other troops moved to Fasanenstrasse and did the most shameful work of the crime-rich night: They broke into the house of God, the synagogue and set it on fire. The flames blazed high when the fire brigade arrived, alarmed by indignant passers-by. And then the unbelievable happened, which overshadows everything that had been there before: the fire brigade was not allowed to extinguish the fire, the police were not allowed to chase away the mob! The firefighting teams stood helplessly in front of the burning synagogue: the SA men prevented them from laying out the hoses, and the police turned their backs on the shameless spectacle. “ From: 250 Jahre Charlottenburg, Berlin 1955, S.41
Against all odds and expectations, Jewish life remained in Berlin after the Holocaust. Most of the few Jews who returned to Berlin were immigrants from Eastern Europe. The chairman of the community, Heinz Galinski promoted the building of a new Jewish Community Centre (Jüdisches Gemeindehaus Fasanenstrasse) at the location of the synagogue. On 10 November 1957, the West Berlin mayor and later German chancellor Willy Brandt attended the ceremony of laying its cornerstone. Few surviving elements of the synagogue, such as the main portal, were kept and integrated into the new building designed in the style of the 1950s.
During ceremonies to commemorate the Kristallnacht on November 9, 1969, the Tupamaros West-Berlin – a small German Marxist organisation trained by in Jordan by the Palestinian Fatah movement – attempted to attack the Community Center, but the planted bomb failed to explode.
Multi layer colour linocut edition of 4
Print size: 34 x 28 cm, paper size: 38 x 57 cm.
Paper: Canson Edition 250 gsm, 100% cotton, pH neutral and archival
The synagogue was built by Ehrenfried Hessel as a three-aisled monumental building with three domes and barrel vaults. The Neo-Romanesque style was based on early Christian-Byzantine church buildings and was similar to the nearby Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Emperor Wilhelm II presented the synagogue with a ceremonial marriage hall richly adorned with Maiolica tiles from his manufacture in Kadinen, dedicated to the Jews of Germany. When he visited the synagogue upon its opening, Kurt Tucholsky on this occasion mocked “the patriotic synagogue” criticizing a voluntary assimilation of German Jews while the ruling class had nothing but contempt for them.
It allowed 1,720 worshippers to attend and also included a religious school. Julius Galliner was a community rabbi from 1912 to 1938; he emigrated to New York City via England in 1939. The community chairman Leo Baeck often preached here.
.WhenI created the linocut I was not only remembering the devastating history but also the new Community Center, where I have spent some really good times. Thus, I choose the inscription ּּוּבָנ֤וּ מִמְּךָ֙ חָרְב֣וֹת עוֹלָ֔ם מוֹסְדֵ֥י דוֹר־וָד֖וֹר תְּקוֹמֵ֑םּ which translates to: “Men from your midst shall rebuild ancient ruins, You shall restore foundations laid long ago” (Isaiah 58:12).