Berlin - 3 Brunnenstrasse, Beth Zion Synagogue (Central Berlin)

Summary: Few details are available about the construction of this synagogue. We do know, however, that female worshipers accessed the designated gallery through the main entrance, from which the men would proceed to the main sanctuary. Photos of the building depict a simply designed structure with several attractive architectural features. The synagogue’s seating capacity is not known, but during the 1920s its membership reached 450. The congregation maintained a school for religious studies, and in the 1930s received an endowment from the official Jewish Community of Berlin, whose purpose was to oversee Jewish community and religious life in the whole city. Two rabbis who officiated at the Beth Zion synagogue were Levy Hoexter (for 35 years) and Yehezkel Landau. The synagogue building was vandalized and its interior wrecked on Pogrom Night (November 1938). Converted into a commercial office building after the war, the exterior has not changed.

Author / Sources: Harold Slutzkin; Sources: SIB, WDJB