Whispers of faith. That’s what clings to the air here at the Synagoge der Jüdischen Gemeinde Hohenschönhausen Stone. This unassuming memorial, nestled within a green space on Konrad-Wolf-Straße, marks a place where prayers once rose and a community thrived. The Synagoge der Jüdischen Gemeinde Hohenschönhausen Stone stands as a stark reminder of a vibrant community tragically silenced. It’s a small stone, a findling, bearing a simple cast-iron plaque. The inscription reads: “Here stood from 1935 to 1938 the synagogue of the Jewish Community of Hohenschönhausen.” The synagogue itself wasn’t exactly on this spot. It was located further back on the property, tucked away behind a carpentry workshop in an unassuming building.
The Jewish community of Hohenschönhausen was small. In the early 20th century, only a few Jewish families lived in this rural area. As Berlin grew, so did the Jewish population. Jewish people from various walks of life moved to the area around Berliner Straße, now Konrad-Wolf-Straße. They were workers, dentists, civil servants, lawyers, doctors. With the rise of the Nazis in 1933, the community drew closer. Faced with increasing exclusion, around 170 Jewish residents of Hohenschönhausen united. They had previously attended services in different parts of the city. Now, they formed the Jewish Community of Hohenschönhausen, holding their own services, first in private homes.
Then, in a courtyard building at Berliner Straße 91, they established their own prayer room. It was dedicated on December 22, 1934. The community lovingly adorned their space. By the summer of 1935, it was ready to be consecrated as a synagogue. The small prayer room was simple. It held the Ark with the Torah scroll, its shield and crown, a reading desk under the Star of David, and the menorah. Izchak Schwersenz served as cantor in 1938. He later recalled: “Attendance at the synagogue at that time was high, people were seeking help and encouragement, they needed edification. And so all the houses of worship that still existed… were well attended. At that time, even people who hadn’t gone before went to services.”
The peace of the Synagoge der Jüdischen Gemeinde Hohenschönhausen was shattered after Kristallnacht in November 1938. The small community was forced to cease activities. The building itself remained, however, surviving until it was demolished 60 years later. Few members of the Hohenschönhausen Jewish community managed to emigrate. Deportations to the east began in October 1941. Some tried to hide, an impossible task without help. Most Germans didn’t help, out of indifference, conviction, or fear. But some did find the courage to act. The Schrödter couple, the baker Hildebrandt and his wife in Hohenschönhausen, and the Naujocks family in Malchow are known to have hidden Jewish people in their homes. Despite these acts of bravery, most members of the Jewish Community of Hohenschönhausen did not survive the Nazi regime. Men, women, and children were deported and murdered in the camps. The Synagoge der Jüdischen Gemeinde Hohenschönhausen Stone stands as a silent witness. It whispers their names, a testament to a community lost but not forgotten.