The Jewish Hospital and the Resumption of Community Life in Berlin
From Our Holdings
One year after the end of the Second World War, on 3 June 1946, the synagogue at the Jewish hospital on Iranische Strasse in the Berlin district of Wedding was rededicated. Torah scrolls were festively paraded around the synagogue and Rabbi Martin Riesenburger, Cantor Oscar Ruschin, and many dignitaries and Allied military representatives took part in the service. The photograph shows Erich Nelhans, then chair of the Jewish Community of Berlin, in the middle of the frame wearing glasses and a prayer shawl.
Rededication of the Synagogue at the Jewish Hospital; Jewish Museum Berlin, Gift of Klaus M. Zwilsky
Makeshift Community Arrangements
In the period just after the war, the reawakening of Jewish community life in Berlin was a tentative affair, the future of Judaism in Germany being extremely uncertain. But gradually, the Jewish Hospital became the center of community work. Here, in the small hospital synagogue, a Soviet army rabbi had conducted one of the first prayer services in Berlin since the end of the war, on 11 May 1945.
Personal Memories
This photograph is one of a large collection donated to the Jewish Museum by Klaus Zwilsky. The photograph also depicts his father Erich Zwilsky, second from the right. Erich Zwilsky had been a pharmacist at the Jewish Hospital since 1941 and was head of administration for a brief period after the war. He emigrated with his wife Ruth and son Klaus to the United States via Sweden in 1946. Our donor also had a personal connection to the synagogue: his bar mitzvah had been held there in July 1945, the first in postwar Berlin.
| Title | Rededication of the Synagogue at the Jewish Hospital |
|---|---|
| Copyright | Jacobson-Sonnenfeld Presse-Illustration Berlin |
| Collection | Photography |
| Location and year of origin | Berlin, 3 June 1946 |
| Medium | Silver gelatine print on baryt paper |
| Dimensions | 17,5 x 12 cm |
| Acquisition | Gift of Klaus M. Zwilsky |
Selected Objects: Photographic Collection (6)
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Photographic Collection
From an early promotional photograph by Yva to documentation of Jewish life in Germany before and after the Shoah, discover selected objects from our Photographic Collection and the stories behind them.
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“Amor Skin”
The vintage print is an example of early promotional photography. Using multiple exposures, the photographer Yva was able to produce unreal and dreamlike images
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“White Weeks” at the Ury Department Store
With a brightly lit façade, the Ury brothers promoted “White Weeks” to their customers in February 1930. The promotional campaign testified to their modern business practices and their resulting success
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Hugo Spiegel as Champion Shot
The photograph by Leonard Freed depicts the father of Paul Spiegel, who would later be president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. The Holocaust survivor was probably the first Jewish champion marksman in Germany
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Sally Israel in a Bavarian Costume
Three vacationers in folk costumes gather around the Berlin businessman for a souvenir photo from Bad Reichenhall. The spa town had been a prime destination for Jewish vacationers since the mid-nineteenth century
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Synagogue in the Jewish Retreat Center in Lehnitz
The synagogue was one of the last in Germany to be dedicated before the Second World War. For many, the retreat center became a place where Jews could assert their identity and culture in a hostile environment
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Rededication of the Synagogue at the Jewish Hospital
One year after the end of the Second World War, in 1946, the synagogue at the Jewish hospital on Iranische Strasse in the Berlin district of Wedding was rededicated. Gradually, it became the center of community work in Berlin
