The Old Synagogue

You are standing at the site of the Synagogue of the israelite Religious Community Freiburg, built in 1869/1870. The Freiburg SS set fire to the Synagogue on the night of the 9/10 November 1938. Stormtroopers (SA) sealed off the area and firefighters were called. They prevented the fire from spreading to the surrounding area but were not allowed to save the burning synagogue. The destruction of the Synagogue marked a turning point where disenfranchisement and discrimination directed at Jewish fellow citizens turned into persecution and the Holocaust.

This reproduction of the floorplan of the Old Synagogue, in the form of a reflection water surface, is a reminder of those fellow citizens who were persecuted, deported and murdered during the National Socialist period (1933-1945), victims of the terror and violence of the NS regime.

Their fate obliges us to oppose antisemitism and racism, to stand up for peace and freedom and staunchly defend these values.

The reflection water surface is a place of remembrance. Please honour the dignity of this site by behaving respectfully.