Leipzig - 11 Farberstrasse, Beth Jehuda Synagogue
Summary: Louise Ariowitsch, widow of a well-known fur merchant,
Julius Ariowitsch, purchased a building on Farberstrasse
in 1915 and had it converted into a center for the Jewish
community. Ariowitsch and her family lived in the front of
the building. The rear of the building (where the mikveh was
located) was renovated and used as a venue for study groups
and lectures in Jewish studies.
In 1921, one of the building’s rooms was enlarged for
use as a synagogue. This small synagogue, known as the
Ariowitsch synagogue, closed down in February 1933 as
most of its congregants had moved away. That year, the front
of the building was converted into a Jewish home for the
elderly.
Nazis desecrated and destroyed the building on Pogrom
Night, November 1938, but did not burn it down. During
the years 1940 to 1943, the former synagogue was used as
a shelter for the homeless, after which it was taken over by
the Nazis and used as a house where Jews were held before
their deportation.
In 1946, a group of Jewish survivors celebrated the
Passover holiday in the former synagogue. Today, the
building is not used for any religious purpose.
Author / Sources: Moshe Finkel
Sources: JSL
www.goldschmidtschule-leipzig.de
Sources: JSL
www.goldschmidtschule-leipzig.de
Located in: saxony