Lost Synagogues of Europe: Paintings and Histories

Lost Synagogues of Europe chronicles and recreates in vivid color paintings the life stories of nearly 80 majestic--and destroyed--European synagogues, each one a testament to the approximately 17,000 synagogues decimated during the Third Reich and early takeover of the Communist regimes. After World War II only about 3,300 buildings remained standing, and just more than 700 are still in use as synagogues. This exquisite and significant work of historical preservation collects, organizes, and documents their stories.

In four chapters organized by inauguration dates (1600s, 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s), author and artist Andrea Strongwater shines light on 77 synagogues built from the early 1600s to 1930 and spanning 16 European countries where destruction was rampant: Austria (6 synagogues), Belarus (3), Croatia (2), the Czech Republic (5), Estonia (1), France (2), Germany (26), Italy (1), Latvia (2), Lithuania (5), Luxembourg State (1), the Netherlands (1), Poland (15), Russia (1), Slovakia (2), and Ukraine (4). Strongwater lovingly illustrates their exteriors and interiors and tells stories of their history, Jewish community, and architectural significance. These synagogues were considered important enough to have been documented in their time, and so here they do double duty: reminding us of the many thousands of other synagogues that were obliterated without having left any historical record.

A foreword by Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Emeritus Ismar Schorsch examines the evolution of the synagogue "from a sacred place to a sacred book." A map of the 2024 political landscape of Europe (with Pale of Settlement and Russian Poland, mid-1800s) helps readers locate each city, town, and country. A cross-reference guide of synagogue locations by country enables readers to find synagogues in the cities and towns of their ancestors.

In all, Lost Synagogues of Europe helps to revive a thriving European Jewish culture and heritage that needs to be remembered today.