An early engraving of the Neue Synagoge In Berlin When leaving the synagogue, signed [unidentified signature] and numbered 4/40. C- 1900.
The new synagogue (Neue Synagoge), which was built in central Berlin from 1859 to 1866 with the aim of serving as the central synagogue of Berlin. The building, on Oranienburger Street (near the Jewish Hospital), is built in the Mori style reminiscent of the Alhambra Palace, and was one of the most magnificent buildings in Berlin in the late 19th century. It was designed by architect Edward Knoblauch. The synagogue was inaugurated in 1866 in the presence of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. On Kristallnacht (the night of November 9 and 10, 1938), a mass of Nazis set fire to the synagogue. Otto Bellgardt, a police officer who was on duty on the morning of November 10, arrived and ordered the Nazi mob to disperse. He declared the synagogue a protected historical site and pulled out his gun, declaring that he was observing the law that required protection of the place. In the meantime, the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire, thus saving the shul. During the RAF bombings on November 23, 1943 during World War II, the structure was severely damaged. The ruins of the building were completely evacuated in 1958 and only after the reunification of East and West Berlin, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, began the synagogue's reconstruction work that continued between 1988 and 1993. At the end, the facade of the building was rebuilt and the dome, but the original prayer hall was not restored.
Provenance: Estate of a Jewish family from Berlin.
Size: 23x17 cm. Given in wood and glass frame 30x40 cm.
