According to a report, Adolf Hitler personally ordered the destruction of Munich’s prominent synagogue in 1938. Pieces of it were discovered by construction workers 85 years later in a river not far away.
The Nazis demolished the 1887 synagogue because Hitler considered it an “eyesore.” The synagogue’s columns and a fragment of a stone tablet bearing the Ten Commandments engraved on it were discovered by a construction team working on a dam.
According to The World Holocaust Remembrance Center, this synagogue was one of the first in Germany to be demolished by the Nazis.
According to the report, the synagogue’s ruins were uncovered on June 28 by a construction team working to renovate a minor dam in the Isar River. Approximately 3 miles separated the relics from the site of the original structure. The items were located 15–25 feet below the surface. After making the discovery, the team promptly notified German heritage authorities.
The synagogue’s debris was left on the property of the corporation responsible for the destruction. It was included in a river dam’s reinforcement, among other bombed-out building rubble, in 1956.
The demolition of the synagogue five months before Kristallnacht, also known as the Night of Shattered Glass, was a “test,” as stated by Bernhard Purin, director of the Jewish Museum in Munich.
The Nazis allegedly aimed to gauge public opinion by destroying places of worship and observing the aftermath. While there was widespread outrage over the burning of churches, the demolition of Munich’s prominent synagogue elicited very little response. Therefore, it seemed to give the Nazis covert permission to go forward.
However, contemporary political leadership has taken a position in direct opposition to the destruction of the great Munich synagogue.
According to a report, the mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, was quoted as saying that finding the synagogue’s remnants was a lucky chance.
