Built in 1869, the synagogue was destroyed by Nazis on November 9, 1938, during Kristallnacht.
History of the congregation
The Beuthen Jewish Community was one of twenty-five Jewish communities of the district of Oppeln, established in the city of Beuthen. The community comprised a Jewish primary school supported by the city, a religious school, 13 charitable societies, and four institutions,[1][2] prior to the German invasion of Poland. Jews lived there from 1421.[3] Despite the separation of Beuthen, and the neighbouring Katowice (Poland), the area was kept as an economic unit, with guarantees on the movement of goods, material, and labour.
The Jewish population of Beuthen during the inter-war period was approximately 3,500 (according to Mokotov) or 5,000 according to a former resident, who recalls that approximately 4,000 Jews left Beuthen between 1933 and 1939. On November 7, 1938, Joseph Goebbels delivered a fiery anti-Semitic tirade in Beuthen, with a call for vengeance.[citation needed]
Beuthen Synagogue was built in 1869 on Friedrich-Wilhelm-Ring (now Plac Grunwaldzki), in place of an older one. The cornerstone was set on May 25, 1868, construction finished on July 2, 1869. Max Kopfstein (1856–1924) from Bad Ems became rabbi and religion teacher there in 1889. Chief Rabbi from 1919, he participated in the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles as an expert in matters concerning the Jewish population in Upper Silesia.
The synagogue was burned down by Nazi German SS and SA troopers during the Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938. Members of the congregation were made to stand for hours in front of their burning Moorish Revival synagogue. A memorial plaque at the site was erected on November 9, 2007.
