Tempel Synagogue (Żywiec)

Tempel Synagogue
Monument to the synagogue
Religion
AffiliationReform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusSynagogue
StatusDestroyed
Location
LocationZabłocie (now Żywiec)
CountryPoland
Location of the destroyed synagogue
in Silesian Voivodeship
Coordinates49°41′06″N 19°11′24″E / 49.685°N 19.19°E / 49.685; 19.19
Architecture
TypeSynagogue architecture
Completedmid-1800s
Destroyed1942
MaterialsBrick

The Tempel Synagogue (Polish: Synagoga Tempel) was a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located between the streets Dworcowa and Wesoła in Zabłocie, now a district of Żywiec, Poland. Constructed in the 19th century, the synagogue served as a house of prayer until World War II, when it was destroyed by the Nazis.

History

Local Jews formed a religious association in 1864.[1] The synagogue in Zabłocie was constructed in the mid-1800s.[2] It was architecturally similar to the Tempel Synagogue in Kraków.[3] A Jewish school and a house of culture were built alongside it.[4] Surrounded by trees, it was the tallest building in the area.[4]

German Nazis destroyed the synagogue complex between 1940 and 1943, during the occupation of Poland.[2] The synagogue building was blown up in 1942.[5] Most of the local Jewish residents died in the Auschwitz concentration camp.[6] The Nazis set up a labor camp near the former synagogue.[5]

Following the Second World War, a vocational school was constructed where the synagogue had stood.[3] On 7 July 2003, the synagogue was commemorated with a monument by Mirosław Ciślak, with inscriptions in Polish and Hebrew.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ZABŁOCIE zagadkowa, zabytkowa, zapomniana dzielnica Żywca". tmzz.org.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b Jeziorski, Ireneusz (4 August 2024). "O Żydach w dawnym Żywcu". bielsko.biala.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Rekonstruują galicyjskie synagogi". zywiecinfo.pl (in Polish). 1 June 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b Bodzek, Anna (27 November 2017). "Żydowskie synagogi i ostatni rabin w Zabłociu". zywiec.beskidy.news (in Polish). Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b Klistała 2009, p. 40.
  6. ^ Banaś, Marta (16 October 2011). "Żydzi żywieccy – niechciani i zapomniani. Między konserwatyzmem a antysemityzmem". histmag.org (in Polish). Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Synagoga Tempel w Żywcu". zywieckiecentrumturystyki.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 15 November 2025.

Bibliography

Media related to Tempel Synagogue in Żywiec at Wikimedia Commons