The most important institution of Judaism

A synagogue, in Polish known as bóżnica, is the centre of religious and social life of Jews, serving at the same time as a place of congregation, learning and prayer. According to tradition and Talmudic principles, synagogues were usually oriented eastward, towards Jerusalem. Inside the eastern wall there was an altar cabinet, known as an aron ha-kodesh, which was used to store parchment Torah scrolls. The entrance and facade of the building, usually with a distinguishing architectural element at the top, were then located on the opposite west side. Often the modest exterior of a synagogue contrasted with the richly decorated interior.

The origin of the synagogue in Dąbrowa Górnicza

The local Jewish population belonged to the Jewish religious community in the nearby Będzin until 1910, when an independent synagogue district was established. Yet, up to 1916 the Dąbrowa Jews still could use the Great Synagogue in Będzin. The first rabbi in Dąbrowa Górnicza was Mojżesz Aron Lewi, who served for more than 20 years. Before the Jews of Dąbrowa Górnicza built their own synagogue, they had been gathering in private prayer houses, the so-called shtiebel, which continued to exist even after the synagogue was erected as an independent building. By the end of the 19^th century, there were four private prayer houses in the settlements of Huta Bankowa and Reden, in the districts of Stara Dąbrowa and Ksawera (now located within the borders of Będzin). By 1917, fourteen meeting houses for Hasidic Jews were already in operation.

The construction of the main synagogue in Dąbrowa Górnicza began in 1912 and was completed in 1916. At that time, the Jews constituted 15 percent of the city’s total population. The plot of land for the synagogue at the intersection of Miejska (later Chopina) and Ullmana (Okrzei) Streets was given by Berek Fuks. The founders of the synagogue were also Alter Futerko, Mordka Lejb Miodownik, Icek Majer Luksburg, Mojżesz Mittelman, Herszel Rajchman and Mordka Hilel Ferens. The building was completed thanks to Mosze Micenmacher, who also donated Torah scrolls. We do not know exactly what the interior of the synagogue looked like, yet the photos of the paintings, which were probably taken by the Germans during WWII, show typical decorative motifs for these buildings, such as representations of animals (here: a leopard, an eagle, a deer, a lion and a bull) and views of Jerusalem, accompanied by religious quotations.

Holocaust. The Synagogue in the Jewish quarter

The German army entered the city on September 4, 1939. The Germans set fire to the synagogue and the building was partly destroyed. Later, it was turned into a warehouse where radios and other items requisitioned from displaced residents were collected. The German occupation authorities incorporated Dąbrowa Górnicza into the Upper Silesian province, and established the Dąbrowa Judenrat in the city. The synagogue was located within the Jewish quarter (Judenviertel), which was created in November 1940. The Jewish population removed from the city centre (3 Maja Street, Sobieskiego Street) was relocated to a quarter formed by Chopina, Łukasińskiego, Starobędzińska, Hieronimska Dolna, Hieronimska Górna, Jaworowa and Mireckiego Streets. Initially, the quarter was an open ghetto, but at the beginning of 1943 it was closed, surrounded by a high fence with barbed wire along the following streets: Chopina, Miejska, Polna, part of Łukasińskiego and part of Okrzei. There were five police-guarded gates leading to the ghetto. On May 18, 1942, Jews from Ząbkowice (about 340 people) were brought to Dąbrowa Górnicza. They were locked in the synagogue and held there for several days. Jews from Strzemieszyce also arrived at the same time. From March till the end of June 1943, the Germans systematically moved the Jews to ghettos in Środula and Kamionka. In early August 1943, when these ghettos were liquidated, most of the 5,500 Jews from Dąbrowa and 2,000 Jews from Strzemieszyce were transported to Auschwitz.

After World War II

Only about 200 Jews from Dąbrowa Górnicza survived the Holocaust. The Protestant community wanted to take over the destroyed and abandoned building of the synagogue and use it for Church of Christ congregation. However, the Jewish community did not agree. Later, in the 1970s, the local authorities allowed to convert the building into a car repair garage (an auto diagnostic and repair facility). Before that, the place was used by wine production factory.

According to one of the records that remains in the archives of the former museum in Dąbrowa Górnicza (the General Aleksander Zawadzki Museum of the History of Working Class Movement), the synagogue was demolished on October 6, 1981.