Construction workers in Munich, Germany, have discovered remains of the city's largest synagogue in a nearby river, 85 years after Adolf Hitler ordered its demolition. They found a stone tablet with a portion of the Ten Commandments engraved on it, as well as columns from the synagogue.
The finding has been met with enthusiasm by the Jewish community and prominent locals. Bernhard Purin, director of Munich's Jewish Museum, remarked, "We never thought we would find anything from it."
Evidence of Munich's Largest Synagogue Destroyed by Hitler
According to BBC, no traces of the structure were seen since its demolition in June 1938, when Hitler ordered it destroyed because it was an "eyesore." Five months later, in November 1938, Nazi Germany saw a fatal pogrom commonly referred to as Kristallnacht, in which Jews, synagogues, and Jewish-owned businesses were targeted.
After 30 years of working in Jewish museums, Purin told BBC, "Yesterday I saw [the remains] for the first time and it was one of the most moving moments." This was particularly true for the plaque of the Ten Commandments, which had not been seen since 1938.
After being utilized to reconstruct a weir 11 years after World War II, it is believed that the rubble from the ancient structure has been buried under the River Isar ever since.
The synagogue was one of Munich's most well-known buildings before World War II. Apparently, the stone tablet survived though less than a quarter of it was missing. It came from atop the Ark (which contained the Torah) on the building's eastern side. Purin said that this was the most important find to date.
There is currently a Karstadt department store in the original location.
After destroying the synagogue in 1956, the Leonhard Moll construction firm presumably kept the debris on their property west of Munich. After the war, the synagogue and other blasted structures contributed to the approximately 150 tons of debris dropped in the river to restore the large Grosshesseloher weir.
Jewish, Local Leaders Have Expressed Excitement at the Discovery
Charlotte Knobloch, the 91-year-old leader of Munich's Jewish community, was overjoyed by the discovery since she had attended the demolished synagogue as a little girl.
She told the Münchner Merkur that the stones were significant to the Jewish community in Munich. "These stones are part of Munich's Jewish history... I really didn't expect fragments to survive, let alone that we would see them."
Finding the ruins of such a wonderful structure, according to Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter, was a "stroke of luck." Katrin Habenschaden, one of his deputies, has said that safeguarding the object found and returning it to the Jewish community is a historic obligation for the city.
