Poland: White Stork Synagogue reopened
Jewish community completes large-scale renovation on synagogue used as Nazi warehouse during WWII. Opening ceremony in city of Wroclaw attended by more than 800 people
The reopening of the grand White Stork Synagogue, which underwent extensive reconstruction in recent years, was marked in a ceremony attended by more than 800 people this month in the city of Wroclaw, Poland.
Famous cantor Joseph Malovany on stage (Photo: Mirek Koch)
The White Stork Synagogue was built in 1829. During World War II, the Germans turned it into a Nazi warehouse (which is why it was not destroyed completely). But in 1968, under Communist rule, the structure was neglected and almost totally ruined.
A decade ago, the White Stork Synagogue was returned to the Jewish community, which began refurbishing the site in recent years.
Synagogue from the inside (Photo: Mirek Koch)
According to Rabbi Yitzhak Rapoport, Shavei Israel's emissary to Wroclaw and one of the leading proponents behind the synagogue reconstruction, the opening ceremony was attended by the president of the Wroclaw Jewish
Community and vice president of the Union of Polish Jewish Communities, the Israeli ambassador to Poland, the mayor of Wroclaw, the chief rabbi of Poland, the Polish Catholic cardinal of Wroclaw, the bishop of the Orthodox Church, the president of the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland and the President of Warsaw's Jewish Community.
