The Jews of Königsberg at the turn of the 20th century
Take a seat! The festive dedication of the New Synagogue in 1896
“On 25 August at 11 o’clock in the forenoon, the congregation gathered for the first time in its new
magnificent House of God, which in that moment
was to be dedicated to its purpose. The synagogue
was filled to its last seat then in part out into its
wide aisles by a crowd in a festive mood. The first
rows of seats were reserved for the guests of honour. […] The speech on this festive occasion was given by Rabbi Dr. Werner and dealt with the relationship of religion to ethics, to optimism, and to science, and developed out of that the task and the meaning of the modern House of God.”
(Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums, 4. September
1896)
99. Announcement of the dedication in the “Hartungsche Zeitung”
102. List of the pre-reserved seats in the synagogue, and the seat of Aron Liebeck
97. Design of the new synagogue (outside)
98. Design of the new synagogue (inside)
We come to a highlight of the exhibition. After the Association Jews in East Prussia has previously presented the stories of the people, their families, economic and social life, we now proceed to the reconstruction of the opening ceremony on August 25, 1896. Here we combine findings from archives of several countries, the seating plan of the service hall with the list of names of the day and the photos of women and men collected over many years from family albums from around the world. 103. 104.
101. Paula Rabow-Wohlgemuth, a member of the choir, at the dedication of the synagogue
100. Booklet commemorating the inauguration ceremony for the participating singers
