Book of Esther
- Date
-
use:
before 1939
- Geography
-
use:
Prudnik (Poland);
Biala (Wojewodztwo Opolskie, Poland)
- Language
-
Hebrew
- Classification
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Jewish Art and Symbolism
- Category
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Jewish ceremonial objects
- Object Type
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Scrolls (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
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Religious articles.
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Donald H. Harter
Megillah (Book of Esther) from the former synagogue in Zülz, Germany (now Biała Prudnicka, Poland). The synagogue burned down on November 9, 1938, during Kristallnacht. The handwritten scroll tells the Biblical story of Esther, a Queen of Persia, who saved the Jewish people from a massacre planned by an advisor to the King. The story is read aloud on the Jewish holiday of Purim. Historically, the town of Zülz had a large Jewish population, and a sizeable brick synagogue was built in 1774, after the previous one burned down. The new synagogue was one of the largest in Germany at the time of its construction, and the scroll was kept there. However, the Jewish population began to decline, and by World War I (1914-1918) there were only a few Jews left in Zülz. In 1914, the religious items and Torah scrolls were transferred to Neustadt in Oberschlesien (now Prudnik, Poland), and the synagogue was sold. The Hirschberg (later Harter) family included Harry, his wife Lenore, and children, Donald and Dorothy. They lived in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), and were descended from Jews who left Zülz. Harry was a doctor, but increasing persecution from the Nazi authorities forced him to flee to Cuba in 1938. On November 9–10, 1938, Nazi leaders unleashed a wave of violence against the German Jewish population. The Kristallnacht pogrom was one of the most violent and widespread acts of persecution. Jews were attacked, and their residences, businesses, and places of worship were destroyed, including the synagogue in Zülz. The rest of Harry’s family escaped to Cuba in 1939, and the entire family immigrated to the United States in 1940.
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Record last modified: 2022-07-28 18:10:56
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn515587
Also in This Collection
Print of the Zülz synagogue brought to the US by German Jewish refugees
Object
Woodcut print of the Zülz synagogue made by artist Rudolf Kraft (formerly Kramarczyk, 1885-1945), and owned by the Hirschberg (later Harter) family, German Jewish refugees. The synagogue was located in the town of Zülz and built in 1774, after the previous one had burned down. At the time of construction, the new synagogue was one of the largest in Germany. However, the Jewish population began to decline, and by World War I (1914-1918) there were only a few Jews left in Zülz. The Hirschberg (later Harter) family included Harry, his wife Lenore, and children, Donald and Dorothy. They lived in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), and were descended from Jews who left Zülz. Harry was a doctor, but increasing persecution from the Nazi authorities forced him to flee to Cuba in 1938. On November 9–10, 1938, Nazi leaders unleashed a wave of violence against the German Jewish population. The Kristallnacht pogrom was one of the most violent and widespread acts of persecution. Jews were attacked, and their residences, businesses, and places of worship were destroyed, including the synagogue in Zülz. The rest of Harry’s family escaped to Cuba in 1939, and the entire family immigrated to the United States in 1940. Rudolf Kraft was a German artist and art teacher, known for painting and creating graphics of urban and landscape scenes of his native Upper Silesia region. During World War II, when the Soviet Army was encroaching on the region, Rudolf and his wife committed suicide before the Soviets could occupy the region.
