• Memorial Plaque to the Victims of the Holocaust
Only after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990/1991 did the Jewish community of the Kaliningrad Oblast (whose administrative centre was formerly known as Königsberg) begin dealing with the German-Jewish history of the region prior to 1945. In 2006, a memorial plaque to the victims of the Holocaust was affixed on the former Jewish orphanage.
Image: Königsberg, undated, The New Synagogue, the Jewish orphanage on the left, Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum Lüneburg
Königsberg, undated, The New Synagogue, the Jewish orphanage on the left, Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum Lüneburg

Image: Kaliningrad, 2009, Memorial plaque to the victims of the Holocaust on the former Jewish orphanage, Stiftung Denkmal
Kaliningrad, 2009, Memorial plaque to the victims of the Holocaust on the former Jewish orphanage, Stiftung Denkmal
At the beginning of the 20th century, Königsberg, then the capital of East Prussia, was home to several synagogues for its approximately 4,700 Jewish residents. The largest was the liberal community's New Synagogue, which was consecrated on August 25, 1896, and which was considered an example of the synthesis of red brick Gothic and Moorish architectural styles. The large domed building was located in Lindenstraße (today: Oktyabrskaya street), next to the Honigbrücke bridge and opposite the cathedral. In 1904/1905, the Jewish community established an orphanage for 30 boys and 15 girls in direct vicinity of the synagogue as part of its charity work.
During the »Kristallnacht« on November 9/10, 1938, non-Jewish residents of Königsberg destroyed the synagogue's interior, set part of the building on fire, devastated the orphanage and chased the orphans onto the street in their nightgowns. Soon afterwards, the synagogue was blown up; the ruins were gone by 1942. By the end of 1941, several hundred Jews were able to flee from Königsberg. On June 24, 1942, members of the SS deported 465 Jewish men, women and children from the freight depot of the Königsberg northern train station to the Maly Trostenets extermination site near Minsk; this was the largest deportation from East Prussia. The 1945 deportations were headed for the Theresienstadt ghetto and the Auschwitz concentration camp. The city was severely damaged by British air raids in August 1944 and by early 1945, when it was declared a »fortress« (»Festung Königsberg«) and fanatically defended, the city was in ruins. Only few Jews survived the National Socialist persecution in Königsberg. In the summer of 1945, northern East Prussia was annexed by the Soviet Union; in 1947/1948, the Jews were »resettled« from the area along with all the other German nationals.
Image: Königsberg, undated, The New Synagogue, the Jewish orphanage on the left, Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum Lüneburg
Königsberg, undated, The New Synagogue, the Jewish orphanage on the left, Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum Lüneburg

Image: Kaliningrad, 2009, Memorial plaque to the victims of the Holocaust on the former Jewish orphanage, Stiftung Denkmal
Kaliningrad, 2009, Memorial plaque to the victims of the Holocaust on the former Jewish orphanage, Stiftung Denkmal
The Jewish community of Königsberg was completely annihilated. Many emigrated in the early years of the National Socialist regime, several hundred left between November 1938 and 1941; at the end of 1941, there were only about 1,000 Jews left in Königsberg. Several survived the persecution in hiding. Of those deported, only a few dozen survived, for example in Theresienstadt. The others were murdered at Maly Trostenets, Auschwitz and other killing centres.
Image: Königsberg, 1938, Destroyed interior of the New Synagogue following »Kristallnacht«, Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum Lüneburg
Königsberg, 1938, Destroyed interior of the New Synagogue following »Kristallnacht«, Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum Lüneburg

Image: Kaliningrad, 2009, Memorial plaque to the victims of the Holocaust, Stiftung Denkmal
Kaliningrad, 2009, Memorial plaque to the victims of the Holocaust, Stiftung Denkmal
Only after 1990/91 did interest for the German and German-Jewish history of former Königsberg and East Prussia arise. The former Jewish orphanage is the only remaining building from the German era in this area; today, it serves as a residential house. The clinker façade has been painted over in a bright red colour. On the right, the former site of the synagogue, a circus has set up its tent. On September 29, 2006, a memorial plaque was affixed to the former orphanage on the initiative of the »Adat Israel« Jewish community. The inscription reads in Russian, Hebrew and German: »In memory of the Jews who fell victim to the Holocaust«. Since there is no reference to the historic site or the Königsberg Jewish orphanage, it can be assumed that the dedication includes all six million murdered Jews.
Since October 2011, the synagogue is being reconstructed. The initiative for the reconstruction was taken by Russian private persons. The rebuilt synagogue is due to be inaugurated on November 9, 2018.
Image: Kaliningrad, 2009, The former Jewish orphanage, Stiftung Denkmal
Kaliningrad, 2009, The former Jewish orphanage, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: Kaliningrad, 2012, Foundation stone for the planned reconstruction of the Synagogue, Stiftung Denkmal
Kaliningrad, 2012, Foundation stone for the planned reconstruction of the Synagogue, Stiftung Denkmal
Name
Doska »Pamjati ewreew, pogibschih ot ruk nazistow w gody Holokosta«
Address
ul. Oktyabrskaya 3
236039 Kaliningrad Kaliningrad
E-Mail
adatisrael@mail.ru
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