Oświęcim synagogue

Infobox religious building
building_name=Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue

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location=Jan Skarbek square,
Oświęcim
flagicon|Poland Poland
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religious_affiliation=Orthodox Judaism
rite=Ashkenaz
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functional_status=Active synagogue
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year_completed=1918
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The Oświęcim Synagogue, often called the Auschwitz synagogue, is the only active synagogue in the town of Oświęcim Poland, known outside Poland by its German name, Auschwitz. The formal, and pre-war, name of the synagogue is the “Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot,” (English translation: Association of Those who Study Mishna.) It is now part of a museum called the Auschwitz Jewish Center.

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 the German occupiers during World War II, and retained by the Post-war Communist government. [ Synagogue Near Auschwitz Restored to Jews, March 12, 1998, New York Times http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E4DD1130F931A25750C0A96E958260] The building was claimed by, and is now owned by, the Jewish community of nearby Bielsko-Biala.

The synagogue, which was used as a munitions depot by the Nazis and as a carpet warehouse in Communist Poland, was restored at the cost of a million dollars by the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation in New York. It is an active synagogue, used for prayers by groups and individuals visiting Auschwitz. The adjoining house was purchased by the foundation and turned into a compelling contemporary museum called the Auschwitz Jewish Center (Zydowskie Centrum Edukacyjne.) it depicts the life of Jews in pre-war Oświęcim. [ Synagogue Reopens Near Auschwitz After 60 Years, New York Times News Service, February 18, 2001 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/02/18/TR178458.DTL ]

The synagogue and Center are affiliated with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. [ [http://www.mjhnyc.org/museum_aboutus_h.htm Museum of Jewish Heritage ] ]

History

In 1939, more than the half of the population of Oświęcim was Jewish. The community was more than 400 years old and there were more than 20 synagogues. The last native Jew in Oświęcim died in 2000. At present, a lone Jewish woman from Belgium lives in Oświęcim, dedicating her life to memorializing the Shoah.

This was not the largest synagogue in Oświęcim. The Great Synagogue of Oświęcim was destroyed by the Nazis on November 29, 1939, and its remains were demolished.

Oświęcim also has a Jewish cemetery. [ [http://ajcf.org/places/10993-JEWISH-CEMETERY Places ] ]

External links

* [http://www.ajcf.pl Official Website]
* [http://www.ajcf.org Official English Language Website]

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* http://www.scrapbookpages.com/auschwitzscrapbook/Tour/Oswiecim/Synagogue.html

References