Just eight years after the inauguration the synagogue in Prinzregentenstrasse was set on fire by the Nazis during the November pogroms 1938 (Reichskristallnacht) and burned down. The ruin stood till 1958 when it was completely removed by mutual agreement between the Jewish community and the city of Berlin.
Single layer colour linocut edition of 4
Print size: 28 x 28 cm, paper size: 38 x 57 cm.
Paper: Canson Edition 250 gsm, 100% cotton, pH neutral and archival
The synagogue was designed by the architect of the Berlin Jewish community Alexander Beer. He was murdered in the Theresienstadt concentration-camp in 1944.
The Berlin jewish community bought the property already in 1913 with the aim to build a new synagogue there. These plans, however, had to be put on ice due to the First World War.
The synagogue was eventually build and then inaugurated on 16. September 1930. It offered space for 2,300 people. The opening was influenced by the Reichstag election held two days earlier, in which the NSDAP, the party of Hitler, had won 107 seats. The chairman of the community council at the time, Georg Kareski, said, in his celebratory speech:
Unfortunately, at this moment it is not possible to indulge in thoughts of pride and joy. Recent decisions in particular also cast their shadow over today’s joy of celebrations. We do not yet know what effects these decisions will have on our position and our lives. ”(Jüdische Rundschau, September 19, 1930)
The synagogue followed the liberal rite. It contained an organ (made by the organ building company G.F. Steinmeyer & Co.) and had no gender segregation. It contained an iron curtain that could be lowered into the floor, to separate the Torah shrine from the prayer room, allowing profane uses of the synagogue for concerts and as a Jewish cultural center.
