Synagogues: Former Synagoge der Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeinde (Synagogue of the German Israelite Community), later the Jüdischen Religionsverband (Jewish Religious Federation) in Bornplatz. Also formerly known as the Gemeinde-Synagoge Bornplatz (Community Synagogue Bornplatz). Today, Joseph-Carlebach-Platz. © Wilhelm Mosel, Deutsch-jüdische Gesellschaft Hamburg. The Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde Synagogue in Bornplatz, 1908 The former Synagoge der Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeinde (Synagogue of the German Israelite Community) in the former Bornplatz was built by the architects Ernst Friedmann and Semmy Engel, and opened on 13.09.1906. The plot was bought by the Jewish community from the Hamburg Finance Department, in 1902. The building of a new orthodox synagogue was necessary because from the end of the 19th century Jews in Hamburg had increasingly moved from the Neustadt district to live in the district of Rotherbaum. Consequently the attendance of the Gemeinde Synagoge (community synagogue) Kohlhöfen, at Nos. 17, 18 Kohlhöfen Straße, in the Neustadt district, steadily decreased, as it was too distant from Rotherbaum. Also, the various small synagogues in Rotherbaum did not satisfy the need of orthodox Jews for a large place of worship. The Neue Dammtor-Synagoge (New Dammtor Synagogue), opened in 1895, was not only too small but, more importantly, also not strictly orthodox. The prayer halls in private houses that, in 1900, around 20 Jewish societies owned, as well as the Synagoge vor dem Dammtor, at No. 4 Bieberstraße, were a stopgap and not a satisfactory solution. Ground plan of the former Bornplatz Synagogue, 1906. The ground plan of the new synagogue was very similar to that of the Kohlhöfen Synagogue. The administration, a weekdays synagogue, and the ritual bath (Mikveh) were accommodated in an extension in the south-east corner of the main building. (The Mikveh was dug out in 1981). The shrine housing the Torah rolls was the "architectural highlight" of the building. Its base was of black marble, the shrine above being of red veined white marble, crowned by the two tablets with the Laws of Moses. Grilled women's galleries were situated on three sides of the first floor of the hall. The Almemor (raised platform with the reading desk) was positioned exactly beneath the huge dome. It was the largest synagoge in north Germany with seating for circa 1,100 people. It was the first freestanding synagogue in Hamburg. The synagogue was built predominantly in the Romanesque style, in yellow brick and reddish sandstone. At the turn of the century the Romanesque style was symbolic of patriotic, German and Christian values. The frequent use of the Romanesque style by Jewish communities was symbolic proof that Jews were Germans. A poem commemorating the completion of the synagogue reads: "Nach rastlosem Schaffen, nach Opfern und Mühen ... Rag' stolz ich empor mit schimmernden Zinnen, den Glauben an Israels Gott zu verbreiten - So schaue getrost ich hinaus in die Zeiten." Interior of the Bornplatz Synagogue. The synagogue was the property of the Jewish community. The Deutsch-Israelitischen Synagogen-Verband (German Israelite Synagogue Association) was given the right to hold public religious services in the synagogue, and were thereby responsible for the upkeep of the building. The administration office of the Synagogue Association was situated on the groundfloor of the synagogue at No. 8 Bornplatz. The aim of the Synagogue Association was the preservation and "consolidation" of the community's religious institutions and practices according to Jewish religious convention. These institutions and practices comprised: the rabbinical council, community synagogues, marriage, divorce, chalizoth (religious ceremony), ritual bath and circumcision. Individuals could not become members or lost their membership of the Synagogue Association when not adhering to, or having adhered to, the Jewish marriage law and law of circumcision. The rabbinical council decided all religious questions internal to the association and had the superintendance of the associations institutions and practices which had a religious significance. The sphere of responsibility of the Synagogue Association included pre 1937 Hamburg. Membership of the Synagogue Association was independent of nationality and community membership. Each member was committed to make a contribution, in accordance with his financial circumstances, to support the association in carrying out its tasks. The religious services held in the community's synagogues, or other synagogues under its jurisdiction, were to be performed, "in all aspects", in accordance with Jewish religious convention, and were never to undergo any change. The Synagogue Association was administered by a board and a committee of delegates. The board consisted of five members each with a five year period of office. The committee of delegates consisted of ten members each with a six year period of office. The delegates were directly elected by all members with voting rights. All male members, having paid their membership contribution, had the right to vote. The committee of delegates advised and decided upon the business of the board, but could also present independent motions. Meetings were generally open. A Religionsschule (Religious School), founded in 1919 was affiliated to the Synagogue Association. The staff consisted of M. Wolfermann, as head, and two other teachers. Initially, lessons were held at No. 4 Bieberstraße, and No. 3 Uferstraße in the district of Uhlenhorst. Later Dr. Leo Rothschild became head, and lessons took place, mostly in the afternoons, at No. 8 Bornplatz. The following were chairmen of the school board: Hermann Gumpertz (1895-1909), Michael Flörscheim (1922-1928), and Dr. Hugo Zuntz (from 1930 on). Hermann Gumpertz was a member of the board from 1884 onward and also a member of the rabbinical council, due to his knowledge of the Talmud. It is informative to compare the membership of the three religious associations, and their membership with the total membership of the Jewish community, regarding community tax. The following figures are for the year 1926: Of 1,700 members of the Synagoge-Verband (Synagogue Association), 436 members paid 131,800 Mark. Of 700 members of the Tempel-Verband (Temple Association), 326 members paid 149,800 Mark. Of 400 members of the Neuen Dammtor-Synagoge (New Dammtor Synagogue Association), 107 members paid 33,400 Mark. Of a total of 8,000 Jewish community members 4,087 members, who were not members of any of the three religious associations, paid 467,000 Mark. Every fourth member of the two synagogue associations was a tax payer, whereas every second member of the Temple Association. Of 5,000 tax paying community members over 4,000, i.e. over 80% were not members of any of the three religious associations. However, these 80% contributed 60% of the total of all community taxes. The Bornplatz Synagogue was dedicated during the time Chief-Rabbi Markus Hirsch was in office. He gave the opening speech. People remembered him as a good and philanthropic man. In 1905 Dr. Nehemia Anton Nobel was employed as rabbi to take some of the load off Rabbi Marcus Hirsch. Nobel was principally renown for his sermons. In 1911, he became rabbi in Frankfurt am Main. In 1910, Dr. Samuel Spitzer, renown for his knowledge of the Talmud, was chosen as chief-rabbi. His regular Halacha lectures (that part of the Talmud which is concerned with legal matters as distinct from homiletics) were repeatedly described as masterpieces. Even his opponents were attracted to these lectures. Unfortunately, Spitzer did not understand the importance of establishing the necessary contact with community members. Chief-Rabbi Dr. Samuel Spitzer (1872-1934). On 22.04.1936, the former Chief-Rabbi of Altona and Schleswig-Holstein, Dr. Joseph Carlebach became chief rabbi of the Synagoge-Verband (Synagogue Association), in the Bornplatz Synagogue. There were fourteen other rabbis, more than two hundred guests of honour, and 1,500 other guests at the ceremony. A loudspeaker system transmitted the ceremony to the hall of the adjacent Talmud Tora School, where a further five hundred guests were assembled. In a personal speech, prior to the actual ceremony, Dr. Carlebach recalled his appointment as director of the Talmud Tora Realschule sixteen years previously. In his ceremonial sermon Dr. Carlebach said he would strive "to learn much, and together with many others". Whether he succeeded or not was dependent upon God's will. However, his house and heart would be open to all, and "I will laugh and weep and share your troubles with you", and that being honoured with the vocation of rabbi was an obligation to serve humanity. "That is the vow of the hour, and the profoundest expression of my desire and yearning". Also: "(...) We will not allow ourselves to be shaken in our faith. (...) We have faith in humanity and in Germany despite all disappointments." A contemporary of Dr. Carlebach assesses his period as Chief-Rabbi of Hamburg: His sermons were masterpieces of diplomacy and wisdom in the face of the increasing focus of the Gestapo. The Gestapo had frequently attended the synagogue over the years. Those who were attentive enough heard with admiration, and also often with fear, how he castigated the current situation, without provoking intervention by the Gestapo. His natural warmth and feeling of reponsibility led him to give advice, support, and often to alleviate personal troubles. He never left his interlocutor feeling ignored or angry. His comforting words were calming. When numerous community members were arrested in connection with the Pogrom Night of 9./10. November 1938 he asked to share their fate. The Gestapo refused as there was no order to arrest him. In conclusion, one of Dr. Joseph Carlebach's nephews relates how the Carlebach house, despite being full of his own nine children, was always full of invited and uninvited guests. The years 1936 to his deportation to Riga on 6.12.1942 became legendary. The Nazi persecution of the Jews made the Jewish community into one large family, with Dr. Joseph Carlebach as its "pater familias". He was its courageous spokesman and its tireless religious leader: he visited civil service departments, prisons, concentration camps, and hospitals, always in danger of being insulted and thrown out, but never lost the least of his dignity. His boundless patience earned him respect from Nazi functionaries. Chief-Rabbi Dr. Joseph Carlebach. During Dr. Carlebach's period of office as chief-rabbi, the Bornplatz Synagogue was set on fire in connection with the Pogrom Night of 9./10. November 1938, and later demolished. The fire brigade's operations report made at 21.50 Hrs on 10.11.1938 recorded a small fire, and that a foot mat and leaves had been burnt. The fire brigade's operations report made at 16.17 Hrs on 12.11.1938 recorded a middle sized fire and that paper and the floor of the attic had been burnt. On both occasions the cause of the fire was given as: "presumable arson". On 2.05.1938, the Hansestadt Hamburg forced the Jewish community to return the property to it. The city only refunded the ground value of the property minus the cost of demolition, whereas this was in contravention of the contract drawn up in 1902. The synagogue, which was intact, was demolished in May 1939. The demolition work dragged on from June 1939 to January 1940. The demolition work was carried out by a demolition firm in Hamburg-Stellingen. The Bornplatz Synagogue being demolished. Reports and statements regarding the events occuring on the Pogrom Night of 9./10. November 1938 follow: "(...) I saw how a teacher brought his school class to the Bornplatz Synagogue and showed them how to smash the windows. He was the first to pick up a stone. (...) People stood around looking on, some laughing, others saying nothing. Presumably, they were as outraged as we were. Some said the Jews were getting what they deserved. When later I passed the synagogue again I only looked at the dome. The Magen David (Star of David) was still there. That they had not brought that down was a source of pride for me. Frau W., living in Hamburg, reported in April 1982: " (...) I was on my way to a school friend and by chance reached the synagogue as it was burning. The Torah rolls had been torn out and I tried to pull away a smouldering roll. The Gestapo had removed the silver decorative covering and the paper was burning. I wanted to rescue these rolls but the Gestapo were immediately there. Thank God they did not make a scene but merely told me to keep away. The fire brigade merely stood-by and took no action. I assume they were there only to protect the adjacent buildings from catching fire. The synagogue was not ablaze but merely smouldering. I returned home completely distraught and screamed at my mother that the synagogue was on fire. My mother expressed her disbelief. I could only reply that I had seen it with my own eyes. My mother could only mutely shake her head and burst into tears. (...)" Herr O., now living in Jerusalem, on a visit to Hamburg in September 1982, related that Gestapo-Kommissar Göttsche personally rescued the Torah rolls. Frau S., living in Hamburg, related how her mother, on her way to the shops, observed uniformed men destroying a Star of David with a hammer as it was too large to pass through the door of the synagogue. The pieces were then loaded onto a furniture lorry. Following the demolition of the synagogue a bunker was built to the south-west of its former position. Frau W. relates the following concerning this bunker: "(...) The bunker was the place of refuge during air-raids for all inhabitants of the area. Particularly following the blanket bombings in 1943 everyone used it, no longer wishing to take refuge in the cellars of their own houses, saying that nothing would happen to this bunker as the synagogue had once stood here. Jews were allocated the fifth floor, i.e. under the roof, so that if a bomb had hit the bunker they would have been the first victims. As my mother did not have to wear a Yellow Star, being of mixed marriage, we were fortunately allowed to find places on the lower floors. As the Jews on the fifth floor could not hear the radio broadcastes, there being no loudspeaker installed on this floor, my brother and I undertook to inform these frightened people, despite having to slip pass the brown uniformed air-raid wardens. Jews gradually stayed away. They presumably preferred to die in their vunerable flats and cellars than have to run the guantlet and be exposed to the humiliation in the bunker, despite being tolerated by the majority of the local inhabitants. Ground plan of the former Bornplatz Synagogue and 1977 surroundings. Today, nothing remains of the former Bornplatz Synagogue. In 1982 the remains of the synagogue were excavated. Today the bunker building, No. 2 Allende-Platz, houses the Hamburg University departments of Human Biology and Soil Science. A monument now occupies the area between the bunker and the Talmud Tora Realschule building. Margrit Kahl's Synagogue Monument was officially dedicated on 9. November 1988, on the 50th anniversary of the destruction of the synagogue. The planning of the floor mosaic took one and a half years, accompanied by permanent discussions between the artist and representatives of the Jewish Community, the Department of the Arts, the Planning Department and the Cadastral Office. The first draft concept which planned to set the Hebrew word "Awoda" (Awoda=service, initially relating to the sacrificial offering made in the Temple in Jerusalem, and later applied generally to the synagogue service), was rejected by the Jewish Community due to both the unsuitability of the word chosen by the artist and its proposed setting: Hebraic characters are sacred and thereby should never be trod on. The second draft led to today's monument. The idea was accepted due to its clarity of conception. Synagogue Monument Black polished granite setts trace the lines of the former vaulting in its original position and dimensions. The areas between are filled with unpolished grey granite setts. The precise location of the former synagogue is thereby made visible. The synagogue entrance faced Grindelhof. To the east, in the direction of the university campus, rose the massive dome and principal apse, where the Ark was situated. Before its redesign the square served as a car park. Today it serves exclusively for pedestrian access. Margrit Kahl has not created a monument in the accepted sense of something three dimentional. However, the floor mosaic makes the former synagogue building more concrete. It helps one imagine how the synagogue once was. It is not a monument in the usual sense but more a place of contemplation. The area where the synagogue once stood, was renamed Joseph-Carlebach-Platz in memory of Dr. Joseph Carlebach, who was the last Chief Rabbi of Hamburg. Two memorial plaques have been erected on the bunker building at No. 2 Allende-Platz. The plaque on the side of the building facing Grindelhof reads: HIER STAND DIE HAUPTSYNAGOGE DER DEUTSCH ISRAELITISCHEN GEMEINDE ZU HAMBURG DIE IN DER ZEIT DER NATIONAL- SOZIALISTISCHEN GEWALTHERRSCHAFT DURCH EINEN WILLKÜRAKT AM 9. NOV. 1938 ZERSTÖRT WURDE. The plaque on the side of the building facing Joseph-Carlebach-Platz, which gives a brief summary of the history of the synagogue, reads: Hier am Bornplatz stand bis 1939 die größte Synagoge Norddeutschlands Sie wurde 1906 nach dem Planen der Architecten Friedheim und Engel errichtet. Bis zur ihrem Zwangsabbruch durch die Nationalsozialisten im Jahr 1939 war die Synagoge ein Mittelpunkt des religiösen jüdischen Lebens in Hamburg; in ihr fanden über 1100 Gläubige Platz. In der Pogromnacht vom 9./10. November 1938 machten die Nationalsozialisten diese geweihte Stätte zu einem Schauplatz der Judenvervolgung; die Synagoge wurde in Brand gesteckt und schwer beschädigt. Nach dem Abbruch des Gotteshauses wurde der Bunker errichtet. Für den Ort der ehemaligen Hauptsynagoge der Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde ist ein Monument entworfen worden. Es soll ein Abbild des Deckengewölbes der Zerstörten Synagoge auf ihrer ehemaligen Stätte erscheinen lassen. Das Monument soll an die Gestalt des Gotteshauses erinnenen, es soll eine Mahnung sein, daß sinnlose Zerstörung ein Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit gewesen ist. Möge die Zukunft die Nachfahren von Unrecht bewahren. --------------------------------------------------- On 29 September 2004 a double sided information window was unveiled on Joseph-Carlebach-Platz at the initiative of the Grindelhof action group whose members included Helga Obens and Steffi Wittenberg, former pupil of the Israelitische Töchterschule in Karolinenstraße, and who as member of the VVN/BdA annually commemorates the Pogrom Night of 9 November 1938 at this site. German text: Dipl.-Pol. Wilhelm Mosel, Deutsch-Jüdische Gesellschaft, Hamburg.