Buried for 70 years, Vilna’s Great Synagogue reveals heart of pre-WWII Jewish community
Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.Decades after one of Eastern Europe’s most important synagogues was destroyed under Nazi and Soviet rule, archaeologists have uncovered the central dais, or bimah, of the Great Synagogue of Vilnius, Lithuania.Excavators were able to access the site for the first time after a Soviet-era building that stood over it was destroyed about eight months ago, excavation co-director Jon Seligman of the Israel Antiquities Authority told The Times of Israel. The synagogue, which served as the center of the city’s 60,000-strong Jewish community before the Holocaust, was ransacked by the Nazis in 1941 and then destroyed under the Soviet regime in 1957, he said.“This was the most important synagogue of Lithuanian Jewry for several centuries,” said Seligman. “It’s what represented them as a people and formed a part of their identity. At a time when Jews comprised 40 percent of the city,…
Archaeologists have uncovered the central dais, or bimah, of the Great Synagogue of Vilnius, Lithuania, which was destroyed by Nazi and Soviet regimes. This significant discovery, made possible after a Soviet-era building was demolished, reveals the heart of the pre-World War II Jewish community. The synagogue, serving as the center for the city's 60,000-strong Jewish population, was ransacked in 1941 and fully demolished in 1957. Excavations, led by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Kultūros Paveldo Išsaugojimo Pajėgos, also unearthed sections of the main prayer hall, women's gallery, colorful terrazzo floors, and seating plaques bearing worshipers' names, including one for "Gitel Klachek, wife of the late Yechezkel, Shamash d’Mata." Co-director Jon Seligman stated, "This was the most important synagogue of Lithuanian Jewry for several centuries." The site will be developed as a heritage and memorial space.
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