Ostrów Wielkopolski, the synagogue, 2015

The photograph from Wojciech Wilczyk’s project “There’s no Such Thing as an Innocent Eye” pictures the seat of the Centre for Studies on the History and Culture of Jews from Southern Wielkopolska, located in the former synagogue in Ostrów Wielkopolski.

The synagogue was built in the years 1857–1860 in the Moorish style. It was one of the city’s most impressive buildings, overshadowing local churches with its architecture. The synagogue served as a place of prayer until 1940, when the Jewish inhabitants of Ostrów Wielkopolski were deported to the Łódź ghetto. During the war and in the decades to follow, the building was used as a warehouse.

In 2006, the Jewish Religious Community in Wrocław, the legal successor of the Jewish community in Ostrów, sold the synagogue to the city. The authorities of Ostrów Wielkopolski undertook the renovation of the facility. Since 2013, the Centre for Studies on the History and Culture of Jews from Southern Wielkopolska has been operating there, and the meticulously restored building is once again the city’s pride.

The history of the building may become a contribution to a discussion about the fate of former synagogues in localities where, due to the Shoah, there are no more religious Jewish congregations. The few Jewish organisations in Poland are not able to take care of all the unused synagogues. More and more often, they are taken over by local governments and converted into community centres, libraries and museums. The use of the synagogue as a centre for research on the history of Jews should be regarded as proper and exemplary.

The photograph was taken by Wojciech Wilczyk on 26 August 2015. Combined with a corresponding picture by the same artist from 2008, it shows the change in the building’s condition (see W. Wilczyk, „Niewinne oko nie istnieje. There’s no Such Thing as an Innocent Eye”, Łódź 2009, pp. 426–427).

More information about the history of Jews in Ostrów Wielkopolski:

https://sztetl.org.pl/en/towns/o/222-ostrow-wielkopolski/99-history/137810-history-of-community

Krzysztof Bielawski