The pictures come back: Zittau

There was initially a Jewish population group in Zittau in the Middle Ages. After several expulsions in the 14th century, they were denied the right to settle within the territorial affiliation to Bohemia and later to Saxony for centuries.¹ Until the 19th century Jews were not allowed to settle in Zittau.² It was only then that civil equality and increased immigration took place.³ The first religious community was founded in 1880 and formally recognised in 1885.⁴ The community initially used private prayer rooms, but the need for a synagogue grew.⁵ Due to financial hardship, the community assembly decided to rent a synagogue. The building was constructed at the landlord's expense and rented by the Jewish community.⁶ The synagogue was built in 1906 on the garden area of the property at Lessingstraße 12 and was consecrated in the same year.

When the National Socialists came to power, the Jewish population was arrested and discriminated against, and some families emigrated. The synagogue was set on fire during "Reichspogromnacht" from 9 to10 November 1938 and blown up the next day.⁸

After the Nazi persecution, there was almost no Jewish population left in Zittau. The site of the former synagogue was not built on again. In 1988, an independent peace group applied for a memorial plate to be placed on the front building of the property where the synagogue once stood.⁹ The plate was realised in 1989.

After 1989, several initiatives were founded in Zittau to promote research and communication of Zittau's Jewish history. The socio-cultural centre "Hillersche Villa" played a key role in this.¹⁰

There is a postcard with the synagogue as a single motif. The motif was made from the south-west, probably from the corner of Lessingstraße / Theodor-Korselt-Straße¹.

The building is not visible on postcards with total views of the town of Zittau, as these were usually made from the north-west with the focus on the church "Johanneskirche". As the synagogue was structurally located in a garden behind a row of buildings, surrounded by various other larger buildings, it was hardly visible as a single building.² Exceptions can be found in the perspectives from the church "Marienkirche"³ towards the town centre and in the perspective from "Johanneskirche" to "Marienkirche", in which the synagogue, albeit very small, was constantly visible from 1906 until its destruction.