Berlin - 48-50 Kottbuser Ufer (Kreuzberg Locality)

Summary: This complex of buildings, designed by the well-known architect Alexander Beer, housed a large synagogue with a seating capacity of 2,000, a social hall, a small synagogue for weekday services, another synagogue for youth services, classrooms, and living accommodation for the rabbi. Construction work commenced in 1913, and the inauguration ceremony took place in 1916. With its threefold façade, elegant wing and portico (the latter of which was designed in the style of the Levetzowstrasse synagogue) the Kottbuser Ufer synagogue was one of the most impressive buildings in the Kreuzberg area. Dr. Isidor Bleichrode was appointed rabbi and served the congregation until 1932. The main building was completely destroyed on Pogrom Night (November 1938); the other sections were gutted, but the ruins were not demolished until the late 1950s, when the former youth minyan synagogue was rebuilt and refurnished. As of this writing, the building is used by Berlin’s conservative Jewish congregation.

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