Synagogue (Kaliningrad)
Encyclopedia
Königsberg's New Synagogue was one of three synagogues in Königsberg in Prussia
, East Prussia
(modern Kaliningrad
, Russia). The other synagogues were Old Synagogue and Adass Jisroel synagogue. The New Synagogue was destroyed in the aftermath of the Kristallnacht
pogrom
in 1938.
around the castle, not administrated by the city).
In 1704 there was the formation of the Jewish congregation, when they acquired a Jewish cemetery and when they founded a "Chevra Kaddisha". In 1722 they received a constitution. In 1756 a new synagogue in Schnürlingsdamm street was dedicated but destroyed by the city fire in 1811. In 1815 a new synagogue was constructed on the same location, meanwhile called Synagogenstrasse #2. The second constitution of the Jewish congregation was issued in 1811.
Some Orthodox congregants seceded from the Jewish Congregation of Königsberg, which they doomed too liberal, and founded the Israelite Synagogal Congregation of «Adass Jisroel» . In 1893 the Israelite Synagogal Congregation built its own synagogue in Synagogenstraße #14–15. Soon later the mainstream Jewish Congregation of Königsberg built a new and larger place of worship, therefore called New Synagogue, dedicated in August 1896. The synagogue in Synagogenstrasse #2 was called Old Synagogue since.
The New Synagogue, as well as the Old Synagogue, were destroyed in the November Pogrom in the night of November 9–10, 1938. The Adass Jisroel synagogue was terribly vandalised, but spared from arson, and could thus be restored to serve as Jewish place of worship. In July 1939 the Gestapo ordered the merger of the smaller Israelite Synagogal Congregation in the larger Jewish Congregation of Königsberg, which now had to enlist also all non-Jews such as Christians and irreligionists, whom the Nazis categorised as Jews because they had three or more Jewish grandparents. The systematic deportations of Jewish Germans (and Gentile Germans of Jewish descent), starting in October 1941, and brought the congregational life in Königsberg to a halt by November 1942.
In 1942 most of the remaining Jews of Königsberg were murdered in Maly Trostinez (Minsk
), Theresienstadt and Auschwitz.
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
(modern Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia). The other synagogues were Old Synagogue and Adass Jisroel synagogue. The New Synagogue was destroyed in the aftermath of the Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
in 1938.
History
In 1508 two Jewish physicians were allowed to settle in the city. 307 Jews lived at Königsberg in 1756. There were 1,027 Jews at Königsberg in 1817. In 1864 there lived 3,024 Jews. In 1880 there were 5,000 Jews at the city. In 1900 there were only 3,975 Jews at Königsberg. The first synagogue was a chapel built in 1680 in the "Burgfreiheit" (a location which was a ducal Prussian immunity districtSovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine by which the sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution....
around the castle, not administrated by the city).
In 1704 there was the formation of the Jewish congregation, when they acquired a Jewish cemetery and when they founded a "Chevra Kaddisha". In 1722 they received a constitution. In 1756 a new synagogue in Schnürlingsdamm street was dedicated but destroyed by the city fire in 1811. In 1815 a new synagogue was constructed on the same location, meanwhile called Synagogenstrasse #2. The second constitution of the Jewish congregation was issued in 1811.
Some Orthodox congregants seceded from the Jewish Congregation of Königsberg, which they doomed too liberal, and founded the Israelite Synagogal Congregation of «Adass Jisroel» . In 1893 the Israelite Synagogal Congregation built its own synagogue in Synagogenstraße #14–15. Soon later the mainstream Jewish Congregation of Königsberg built a new and larger place of worship, therefore called New Synagogue, dedicated in August 1896. The synagogue in Synagogenstrasse #2 was called Old Synagogue since.
The New Synagogue, as well as the Old Synagogue, were destroyed in the November Pogrom in the night of November 9–10, 1938. The Adass Jisroel synagogue was terribly vandalised, but spared from arson, and could thus be restored to serve as Jewish place of worship. In July 1939 the Gestapo ordered the merger of the smaller Israelite Synagogal Congregation in the larger Jewish Congregation of Königsberg, which now had to enlist also all non-Jews such as Christians and irreligionists, whom the Nazis categorised as Jews because they had three or more Jewish grandparents. The systematic deportations of Jewish Germans (and Gentile Germans of Jewish descent), starting in October 1941, and brought the congregational life in Königsberg to a halt by November 1942.
Rabbis
There were following rabbis:- Solomon Fürst (from 1707 to 1722). He wrote a cabbalistic work and a prayer, which is printed in Hebrew and German languageGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. - Aryeh (Löb) Epstein ben Mordecai ( from 1745 to 1775).
- Samuel Wigdor (from 1777 to 1784).
- Samson b. Mordecai (from 1784 to 1794).
- Joshua Bär Herzfeld (from 1800 to 1814).
- Levin Joseph Saalschütz ( from 1814 to 23).
- Wolff Laseron (from 1824 to 1828).
- Jacob Hirsch Mecklenburg (from 1831 to 1865). He who wrote the "Ha-Ketav we-ha-Qabbalah".
- Isaac Bamberger.
- Hermann Vogelstein (from 1897).
Notable members
The community was one of the pioneers of modern culture. Jews of Königsberg have taken an important part in the struggle for the Jewish emancipation:- Hannah ArendtHannah ArendtHannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...
(1906–1975), political theorist - Yaakov Ben-TorYaakov Ben-Tor- Biography :Ben-Tor was born in the Baltic city of Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany in 1910 and emigrated to the then British Mandate of Palestine in 1933.- See also :*List of Israel Prize recipients...
(1910–2002), geologist - Isaac Euchel (pupil of Immanuel KantImmanuel KantImmanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
). Euchel founded a Hebrew literary society. He wrote the periodical "Ha-Me'assef" and the circular letter "Sefat Emet". Euchel defended institutions for the education of the young pupils, like the "Freischule" at Berlin. - Hugo FalkenheimHugo FalkenheimHugo Falkenheim was a German Medical Doctor and the last Chairman of the Jewish congregation of Königsberg.-Biography:...
(4 September 1856 – 22 September 1945), last Chairman of the Jewish congregation of Königsberg - Ferdinand FalksonFerdinand FalksonFerdinand Falkson was a German physician and political writer. Born in Königsberg, he was educated at the universities of Königsberg, Berlin, and Halle, graduating from the first-named as M.D. in 1843...
(physician) - David FriedländerDavid FriedländerDavid Friedländer, sometimes spelled Friedlander was a German Jewish banker, writer and communal leader.- Life :Friedländer settled in Berlin in 1771...
(1750–1834), writer - Leah GoldbergLeah GoldbergLeah Goldberg was a prolific Hebrew poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher. Her writings are considered classics of Israeli literature and remain very popular among Hebrew speaking Israelis.-Biography:...
(1911–1970), author - Theodor GoldstückerTheodor GoldstückerTheodor Goldstücker was a German Sanskrit scholar. He was born of Jewish parents in Königsberg. After attending the gymnasium of that town, he entered its university in 1836 as a student of Sanskrit....
(1821–1872), scholar - Marcus Herz (pupil of Kant)
- Immanuel Jacobovits, (1921–1999), Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
- Johann JacobyJohann JacobyJohann Jacoby was a Left-wing Prussian Jewish politician.- Biography :The son of a merchant, Jacoby studied medicine and in 1830 started practicing in his native city, but soon became involved in political activities in a liberal interest, which involved him in prosecutions and made him well-known...
(politician) - Aaron Joel (pupil of Kant). Joel introduced the ideas of Moses MendelssohnMoses MendelssohnMoses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
into the city of Königsberg - Raphael Kosch (physician). In 1869 Kosch secured for Jews the abolition of the Jews' oath in PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
- Rudolf LipschitzRudolf LipschitzRudolf Otto Sigismund Lipschitz was a German mathematician and professor at the University of Bonn from 1864. Peter Gustav Dirichlet was his teacher. He supervised the early work of Felix Klein....
(1832–1903), mathematician - Moshe MeronMoshe MeronMoshe Meron is an Israeli lawyer and former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1977 and 1981.-Biography:Born in Königsberg in Germany , Meron made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1936. He attended the Jerusalem School of Law and was certified as a lawyer...
(born 1926), politician - Leah Rabin (1928–2000)
- Simon Samuel (physician). Samuel has taken an important part in securing for Jews the right of admission to the faculty of the Albertina University in Königsberg.
- Moritz Simon (financier)
- Samuel Simon (financier)
- Moshe SmoiraMoshe SmoiraMoshe Smoira was an Israeli jurist and the first President of the Supreme Court of Israel.-Biography:Smoira was born in 1888 in Königsberg, in the German Empire to Leiser and Perel, Hasidic immigrants from Russia. He studied Hebrew and became a Zionist...
(1888–1961), first President of the Supreme Court of IsraelSupreme Court of IsraelThe Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme... - Marcus Warschauer (financier)
- Michael WieckMichael WieckMichael Wieck is a German violinist and author. He was the first violinist of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1974-93. In 1989 Wieck published a memoir, Zeugnis vom Untergang Königsbergs, in which he related his and his family's sufferings under the Nazis and, after the German defeat,...
(born 1928), violinist and author
In 1942 most of the remaining Jews of Königsberg were murdered in Maly Trostinez (Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
), Theresienstadt and Auschwitz.