Sokołów Małopolski, the synagogue, 2008

The photograph presents the building of the Municipal and Communal Centre for Culture, Sports and Recreation in Sokołów Małopolski, a synagogue until World War II. The synagogue was erected around 1904. The building was oriented (i.e. facing Jerusalem), built of bricks on a square plan, with an extension connecting it with a Talmudic school which was dismantled after the war. The interior has the so-called longitudinal layout, with the main prayer room, the bimah (platform for reading the Torah) and the Aron Kodesh (cabinet for Torah scrolls) in the south-eastern part, and the entrance, vestibule and women’s gallery (babiniec) in the north-western part. The lighting in the main hall was provided by tall, rectangular windows closed in a semi-circled arch (see article on synagogues:

https://sztetl.org.pl/en/glossary/synagogue).

During World War II, the Germans used the synagogue as a stable and warehouse. After 1945, the former synagogue was used by the “Samopomoc Chłopska” Municipal Cooperative as a place of meetings and public celebrations. Around 1960, the city authorities converted the building into a community centre. During the works, the building was extended to the north; some of the partition walls were removed. In the main hall, an elevated stage was arranged, and the ceiling above it was raised. Currently, the building houses the Municipal and Communal Centre for Culture, Sports and Recreation in Sokołów Małopolski and the Non-Public Music School. In 1987–1997, it also housed the Social Regional Museum in Sokołów Małopolski.

The photograph was taken by Wojciech Wilczyk in 2007.

Krzysztof Bielawski