The Jewish temple in Gdańsk’s centre was a representative building. It was a symbol of the Jews’ belonging to the community of the city. Unfortunately, with the outbreak of World War II and the subsequent incorporation of the Free City of Danzig into the Third Reich, it had to disappear.

The Great Synagogue in Gdańsk was built between 1885 and 1887, with the funds provided by the Reform Jewish communities of the city’s districts of Wrzeszcz, Szopy, Winnica, Stare Szkoty and Szeroka Street. To make the temple as magnificent as possible, the best Berlin architects were hired.

The building stood in the city centre, in the most representative part of Gdańsk. It was to be a symbol of the Jewish community’s belonging to the urban society. Up to 2,000 people could gather in the Great Synagogue of Gdańsk. The building was electrified and heated.

Gdańsk, which is now located within the borders of Poland, at the time of the Synagogue’s construction, belonged to the German Empire, which had taken that territory from Poland by force in the 18th century during the Partitions. When the First World War ended in 1918 and Poland regained its independence, after 1920 Gdansk became a free city, being in a customs union with Poland. The Poles were responsible for the foreign policy and defence of the city. They were allowed to use the port of Gdansk and managed the railways and the post office. Many Germans lived in the city and had a lot of influence there.

When the German Nazis came to power in the 1930s, a guard was put up in front of the Synagogue to protect it from attacks as there were two attempts to set it on fire. Fearing devastation, Jews began to sell off the temple’s furnishings to Polish cities, including Kraków and Warsaw. The archive was taken to Jerusalem and the collection of Jewish items to the USA. The books found shelter in Vilnius, a city that was then in Poland.

The last service was held there on 15 April 1939. On the fence surrounding the Synagogue, the Germans hung a banner with the inscription: “Come dear May and free us from the Jews” and immediately at the beginning of May 1939, the German authorities started to demolish the temple.

Today, part of the site of the former Synagogue houses the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre, and on the site of the demolished building the outline of its walls has been reconstructed.