Construction workers in Munich have found parts of a synagogue that were demolished by the Nazis and hidden in a river for 85 years.

Work in Progress: While working on a river dam, construction crews discovered around 150 tons of stone columns and a tablet bearing the Ten Commandments from Munich’s main synagogue that was demolished in 1938.
* The stones were found 7 or 8 miles away from the original synagogue site, which has now been converted into a department store.
* These will be transported to another site for further examination, a process that could take up to two years.
* It is also suspected that there could be more such artifacts in other parts of the river that may be brought to light as the dam renovation progresses.

Historical background: The synagogue had been a center of Jewish life and a prominent landmark in Munich.
* Designed by prominent German architect Albert Schmidt and opened in 1887, the synagogue had more than 1,500 seats and served as the city’s main synagogue.
* Adolf Hitler ordered the synagogue’s demolition in June 1938, months before the nationwide November Pogrom (Kristallnacht).

Importance of the Find: The discovery has been described as a “stroke of luck” by Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter, and his team has pledged to protect and return the findings to the Jewish community.
* Bernhard Purin, the director of the Jewish Museum Munich, hopes that the ruins will eventually be used to honor Jewish life in Munich before the Holocaust.
* There are plans to identify which parts of the synagogue have been preserved and determine how they can be used, such as potentially recreating its eastern wall.

Legacy and Future Implications: Today, Munich is home to about 9,000 Jewish people, out of some 1.5 million residents.
* The synagogue’s destruction was seen as a test for the public’s reaction to the upcoming Kristallnacht, and its lack of response led to the further destruction of synagogues without significant backlash.
* Construction crews are hopeful that further pieces of the synagogue, including parts of the Torah ark, may yet be found as work progresses.

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