The Bimah (a podium in the synagogue from which Torah is read) of the Old Synagogue of Tarnow, Poland is all that remains of a brick synagogue built in 1661 and burned down by Nazis on 9th of November 1939.

The original structure, most likely made of wood, was vulnerable to fire. Frequent conflagration urged the Jewish society to replace existing construction with a brick building. The remained Bimah is composed of four pillars carrying square block. The ceiling was covered with stucco. Small pieces of the decoration are still […]

Kristallnacht.

Kristallnacht night of terror, November 9 – 10, 1938, German mobs destroyed many vestiges of Jewish presence. A total of 1,350 Jewish synagogues were burnt to the ground or destroyed; 91 Jews were killed; 30,000 Jews were thrown into concentration camps; 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed; and thousands of Jewish […]

REMEMBERING KRISTALLNACHT

Kristallnacht night of terror, November 9 – 10, 1938, German mobs destroyed many vestiges of Jewish presence. A total of 1,350 Jewish synagogues were burnt to the ground or destroyed; 91 Jews were killed; 30,000 Jews were thrown into concentration camps; 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed; and thousands of Jewish […]

“The woman on the left is my grandmother, Eva Kostre. Born in Poland, she is a survivor of Auschwitz and Ravensbruck concentration camps.”

“This picture was taken in a displaced persons camp about a year after she was liberated. She performed in plays as a way of lifting the moral of other survivors. Although my grandmother believes it’s important to remember the past, she also understands the importance of moving forward and celebrating […]

Meet Gunther Bauer.

I bumped into Gunther yesterday in the comments section on Humans of Judaism. In a previous post (attached) about an 85 year old Holocaust survivor that went sky diving with his grandson, proving to Hitler that he couldnt ‘put out his flame’, Gunther commented with this: “I’m also 85, I […]

YAD VASHEM: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, is the ultimate source for Holocaust education, documentation and research. From the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem‘s integrated approach incorporates meaningful educational initiatives, groundbreaking research and inspirational exhibits. Its use of innovative technological platforms maximizes accessibility to the vast information in […]