Potsdam Synagogue Centre (Synagogenzentrum Potsdam)

The largest synagogue of the Potsdam community was inaugurated in 1903 on Wilhelmplatz, today’s Square Alter Markt. With 154 seats for men and 162 seats for women, it reflected the size of the congregation at the time. During services, the organ was played by the organist of St Nicholas’ Church. Severe damage was inflicted on the synagogue during the November Pogrom of 1938, and it was almost completely destroyed in an air raid in April 1945. In 1957, the remaining ruins were demolished to make way for residential development. Today, a memorial plaque commemorates the former synagogue.

Following the political transformation in Germany, Jewish emigrants from the former Soviet Union settled in Potsdam. In 1991, the Jewish Community of the State of Brandenburg (Jüdische Gemeinde Land Brandenburg e.V.) was founded, with members living in Brandenburg, Potsdam and the reception centre in Ahrensfelde. The orthopaedic surgeon Dr A. Kogan was elected chairman. Recognition as a corporation under public law was achieved in November 1993 with the support of the State Minister for Culture, Hinrich Enderlein. As membership continued to grow, Jewish residents in Potsdam decided in 1996 to establish their own local community. Entry into the register of associations at Potsdam District Court followed in 2000. The Jewish Community of the State of Brandenburg subsequently became the umbrella organisation.

State support for the construction of a synagogue in Potsdam was set out in the 2005 State Treaty between the State of Brandenburg and the Association of Jewish Communities in Brandenburg. The project took concrete form with the laying of the foundation stone on 8 November 2021. A ceremonial inauguration of the Potsdam Synagogue Centre for the Jewish community in Potsdam and Brandenburg followed on 4 July 2024, marked by a formal ceremony attended by Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier.

With the construction of the Synagogue Centre, a ritual and cultural centre was created for the Jewish communities in Potsdam. Designed according to plans by architect Jost Haberland, the building combines contemporary architectural and technical design with a centuries-old tradition of synagogue architecture. Until 2027, the Synagogue Centre has been entrusted to the Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle der Juden in Deutschland, which is responsible for its operation during this period and ensures its use by the participating local Jewish communities.

Following the opening of the Small Synagogue of the European Centre for Jewish Scholarship at the University at New Palace in August 2021, the synagogue is the second new Jewish place of worship to be built in the state capital of Brandenburg since the Shoah.