• Remembrance of the Old Synagogue
Various memorials in the city centre of Strasbourg mark the site where the Old Synagogue once stood until its destruction by the National Socialists in 1940.
Image: Strasbourg, around 1900, Die Synagogue dedicated in 1898, public domain
Strasbourg, around 1900, Die Synagogue dedicated in 1898, public domain

Image: Strasbourg, 2012, Memorials to the Old Synagogue, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Strasbourg, 2012, Memorials to the Old Synagogue, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Strasbourg (German: Straßburg), capital of the Alsace region, became part of the German Reich after the Franco-German war of 1870/71. Prior to that, the city was part of France for almost 200 years. Even before 1871 the Jewish population had grown considerably, a trend later intensified by rural exodus. Subsequently the Jewish community decided to build a new main synagogue which came into existence between 1895 and 1898 at the Kleberstaden (French: Quai Kléber). It was designed by the architect Ludwig Lewy in the then popular Romanesque Revival style. The synagogue had a seating capacity of 1,500 and the main dome had an octagonal layout similar to the central dome of the Speyer Cathedral. After the First World War Strasbourg was again part of France until the German Wehrmacht defeated France in 1940 and the German Reich subsequently incorporated Alsace. Many Jews flew to the heart of the country or to the unoccupied part of France but because of the anti-semitic policies of the collaborating Vichy government of Marshall Pétain they were not safe there either. In September 1940 anti-Semites set fire to the Strasbourg synagogue. The gutted building was demolished in the following months.
Image: Strasbourg, around 1900, Die Synagogue dedicated in 1898, public domain
Strasbourg, around 1900, Die Synagogue dedicated in 1898, public domain

Image: Strasbourg, 2012, Memorials to the Old Synagogue, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Strasbourg, 2012, Memorials to the Old Synagogue, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Prior to the beginning of the Second World War about 10,000 Jews lived in Strasbourg. About 800 of them perished in the Holocaust.
Image: Strasbourg, 1940, The synagogue after the arson attack in September 1940, public domain
Strasbourg, 1940, The synagogue after the arson attack in September 1940, public domain

Image: Strasbourg, 2012, View of the memorial complex with memorial stone from 1976 in the foreground, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Strasbourg, 2012, View of the memorial complex with memorial stone from 1976 in the foreground, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Since the end of the Second World War, Strasbourg is French again. Many Alsatian Jews returned to the city. In 1958 the Jewish community dedicated a new main synagogue by the name of »Grande Synagogue de la Paix« (»Great Synagogue of Peace«). For decades nothing remembered the old synagogue until 1976 a first memorial stone was erected on its former site. In 2012 the »Alley of the Righteous among the Nations« was added to the memorial. On the installation Alsatians who have saved the lives of persecuted Jews are remembered. At the same time many large-sized images of the old synagogue are shown. The memorial was initiated by the umbrella organisation of Jewish communities in France and the city of Strasbourg. Today about 20,000 Jews live in Strasbourg, some of them come from North African countries like Algeria and Morocco.
Image: Strasbourg, 2012, Memorials to the Old Synagogue, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Strasbourg, 2012, Memorials to the Old Synagogue, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons

Image: Strasbourg, 2013, »Alley of the Righteous among the Nations«, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Strasbourg, 2013, »Alley of the Righteous among the Nations«, Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimédia Commons
Name
Site mémoriel pour l'ancienne synagogue consistoriale
Address
3 Quai Kléber
67000 Strasbourg
Open
The memorials are accessible at all times.