This is a photograph of the ark in the Nożyk Synagogue in Warsaw, Poland. The Nożyk Synagogue is the only synagogue built in Warsaw before the Holocaust to survive World War II. The ark, topped by an ornate metal dome, is located on the eastern wall of the synagogue and is supported by eight pillars. The structure holding the dome is made of marble and includes an inscription from Psalms 118:19: “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter them and thank God.” There are steps on both sides leading up to the doors of the ark that are covered with a parochet (curtain). On the level just beneath the ark are seats for the dignitaries, usually the rabbi and the president of the synagogue. In the right-hand corner there is a pulpit covered in blue velvet upon which are two siddurim (prayer books).
The synagogue was funded by the Nożyks, an affluent couple without children who decided to donate their fortune to the community for the purpose of building a new synagogue. The synagogue was designed by a famous Warsaw architect, Karol Kozlowski, in the neo-romantic style. Construction of the synagogue was completed in 1902, and when it was built, it seated 600 people, making it one of the five largest synagogues in Warsaw. This synagogue was one of the few to have been built as a separate structure and not connected to a school, hospital, or private home. When Germany first occupied Poland during World War II and established the Warsaw ghetto, the Nożyk Synagogue was included within the ghetto. As the area of the ghetto shrunk, the synagogue was left outside of its boundaries. Jews were allowed to pray in the synagogue until the autumn of 1941, when it was turned into a stable and storage area for fodder. After the Holocaust, during which all other synagogues in Warsaw had been destroyed, the Nożyk Synagogue remained standing. The synagogue underwent renovations and reopened for services at the end of the 1940s. Additional reconstruction took place in the 1950s and 1970s, and it officially reopened at a ceremony marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on April 18, 1983. The synagogue was the target of several anti-Semitic attacks in the 1990s. Currently, services are held daily and on Shabbat and festivals for the small Jewish community of Warsaw. The building also houses several other Jewish organisations.
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Jewish Community of Warsaw – The first Jews to live in Warsaw arrived in the fourteen century. Not long after, Jews were expelled from the city and not officially allowed to live there again until 1768. Thereafter, the Jewish population of Warsaw grew, despite periodic anti-Semitic incidents. Hasidism spread to Warsaw in the late eighteenth century, and by the late eighteenth century, almost two-thirds of Warsaw’s 300 synagogues were Hasidic. The Jewish population of Warsaw grew in the late nineteenth century as a result of immigration from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Belorussia following pogroms. The late 1800s and early 1900s were a time of great growth in the Jewish community of Warsaw: synagogues were built and almost ninety percent of Jewish children received a Jewish education. The large community in Warsaw included different social groups, with orthodox Jews living alongside secular and assimilated Jews. Zionist organisations were established as was the anti-Zionist Bund organisation, a Jewish socialist group which stressed Yiddish culture. Jewish newspapers, literature, and theatre also thrived. By 1939, almost 400,000 Jews lived in Warsaw, comprising approximately one-third of the total population. When Germany entered Poland, the Jews were required to wear the yellow star, barred from public transportation, and taken into forced labour. In 1940, the Jews of Warsaw and Jews from other parts of Poland were forced to move into the very small area of the Warsaw ghetto. The population of the ghetto reached more than 500,000. Living conditions were harsh, and hunger and illness were rampant. In the summer of 1942, the first deportations of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to Treblinka began and thousands of people were deported each day. On January 18, 1943, when a second round of deportations began, the Germans faced resistance from the Jews in the ghetto. Mordechai Anielewicz became the leader of the resistance, and when the Germans returned on April 19, 1943 to resume deportations, they were met by 750 poorly equipped but tenacious Jewish fighters who held them off until the Germans finally burned down the ghetto and killed 60,000 Jews. Today, there are an estimated 3500 Jews living in Warsaw, with about 700 belonging to the official Jewish community of Warsaw. The community has a Jewish school, a youth movement, and cultural and academic institutions. POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews was opened in Warsaw in 2013 on the site of the Warsaw ghetto.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising – Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. A year later the Germans outlined their plans for creating a Jewish ghetto in Warsaw by October 31, 1940. The Jews of Warsaw and other regions in Poland were sent to live in a small section of the city, resulting in over-crowded conditions and tremendous food scarcity and sickness. In 1942, the decision was made to liquidate the ghetto and to deport over two million Polish Jews to the death camps. After eighteen months of deportations, approximately 55,000-60,000 Jews still lived in the ghetto. In April 1943, the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto learned of a planned deportation of the remaining inhabitants of the ghetto to Treblinka. Under the leadership of 23-year-old Mordecai Anielewicz, the Jews resisted and fought against the Germans. After several days of fighting, the German commander, General Jurgen Stroop, burned the ghetto down, but the Jewish resistance continued for another twenty-seven days. On May 8, Mordecai Anielewicz’s headquarters were discovered and captured. Anielewicz, along with many of his fighters, were killed, although several dozen fighters escaped through the sewers. On May 16, Stroop declared the fighting was over and blew up the Great Synagogue. Approximately 7,000 Jews and 300 Germans were killed during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Another 7,000 Jews were subsequently deported to Treblinka. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising remains a powerful example of resistance during the Holocaust.
Synagogue Design – The design of synagogues is influenced by the place, time, and community that built it. All synagogues face toward Jerusalem and include certain features such as the ark (aron hakodesh) where the Torah scrolls are kept, a curtain (parochet) in front of the ark, a prayer platform (bimah) from which the services are led , and a lamp that is kept constantly lit (ner tamid). In Orthodox synagogues men and women sit separately, while in Reform and Conservative synagogues families sit together. In many Sephardi synagogues the congregation sits around the bimah, while in Ashkenazi synagogues the congregation sit in rows facing the ark. Karaite synagogues differ from the more common synagogues and do not have any seats. While some synagogues are very simple in style, others are very ornate and include stained glass windows, intricate designs on the walls, and candelabras. There are very few traditional guidelines for synagogues except that they should include windows and be the tallest building in the area. In many places, however, Jews were not allowed to build tall buildings, and some synagogues were even built below ground level. For these reasons, synagogues were often built hidden within existing buildings or protected by a high wall. The emancipation of the Jews in nineteenth-century Western Europe impacted the architecture of synagogues, and large, elaborate synagogues were built, often in central locations.
