The Oświęcim Synagogue, also called the Auschwitz Synagogue, is the only active synagogue in the town of

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. The formal, as well as pre-war, name of the synagogue is C''hevre Loymdei Mishnayos'' (English translation: Association of Those Who Study Mishna). It is now part of the

Auschwitz Jewish Center Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

, which includes a Jewish Museum, a cafe in the house of

Shimson Kleuger Shimson Kleuger (also Szymon Klieger or Szymon Klüger) (19 January 1925 – 26 May 2000) was a Polish Holocaust survivors, Holocaust survivor and the last openly Jewish person to live in the town of Oświęcim, Poland, (german: Auschwitz) from ...

and an education center.

Background

The Oświęcim synagogue was the first building restored to the Jewish community under the Polish government's post-Communism law governing the restitution of Jewish communal property seized by German occupiers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and retained by the post-war Communist government. The building was claimed by, and is now owned by, the Jewish community of nearby

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

History

The synagogue was built circa 1913. During World War II, the Nazis demolished its interior and used the building as a munitions depot. After the war ended, a small group of Jewish survivors restored the synagogue to its proper function. However, the custodians soon left Poland due to the

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

of the communist authorities of the 1950s and 1960s; as a result, the synagogue ceased to operate.The Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue history
at ajcf.org In the 1970s, under communist Poland, the empty building was used as a carpet warehouse. The synagogue reopened on 11 September 2000, completely restored to its pre-war condition by the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation, at the cost of one million dollars. The temple's interior has been reconstructed. It has once again become an active synagogue used for prayers by groups and individuals visiting

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. The adjoining house was purchased by the foundation and turned into a contemporary museum called the

(''Żydowskie Centrum Edukacyjne''). It depicts the life of Jews in pre-war Oświęcim. Both the synagogue and the Jewish center are affiliated with the

Museum of Jewish Heritage A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

in New York.Museum of Jewish Heritage
; at www.mjhnyc.org On 12 September 2000 the synagogue was officially opened for religious and educational purposes, the Torah scrolls were brought in, and a mezuzah was nailed down. A museum exhibition devoted to the Jews of Oświęcim has been opened in the former women's gallery. Presently the Synagogue forms a part of the permanent exhibition of the Jewish Museum run by the Auschwitz Jewish Center – a cultural center focused on Jewish heritage, reconciliation through art and intercultural dialogue.

Shimson Kleuger's House

The house of Shimson Kleuger forms part of the complex that includes the synagogue. It now houses a cafe. Kleuger, the last native Jew of

, died in 2000. His death in 2000 brought to an end the old Jewish community of Oświęcim.

The great synagogue

At the time of the Nazi invasion, more than half the population of Oświęcim was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. The community was over 400 years old and there were then more than 20 synagogues in the city.Video presentation
at ajcf.org The Auschwitz synagogue was not the most important synagogue in Oświęcim. The better known and bigger Great Synagogue of Oświęcim was destroyed by the Nazis on 29 November 1939 and its remains were demolished.

Notes

References

* Lucyna Filip; ''Jews in Oswiecim 1918–1941''; Oswiecim; 2005.

External links

Official Website, at www.ajcf.pl

Official English Language Website, at oshpitzin.pl

Kluger family house on oshpitzin.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oswiecim synagogue Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Poland Ashkenazi synagogues Jewish Polish history Holocaust museums Museums in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Orthodox synagogues in Poland Synagogues preserved as museums Synagogues completed in 1918 Oświęcim Oświęcim County Buildings and structures in Lesser Poland Voivodeship History museums in Poland Holocaust locations in Poland 1918 establishments in Poland 20th-century religious buildings and structures in Poland