Gartenstraße 33: Synagogue Square Memorial
Station im Stadtrundgang: History Path to National Socialism
Tübingen's synagogue, built in 1882, was once situated on the site of today's Gartenstraße 33. National Socialists from Tübingen vandalized and set ablaze the synagogue during the Reichspogromnacht ("Crystal Night") on November 9, 1938.
Today, the synagogue square is the main location providing information about the history of Tübingen's Jews. At the same time, it is a place for commemorating the university town's expelled and murdered Jewish citizens. An annual memorial service takes place here every November 9 since the early 1990s.
On the right hand side of the square, the Denkmal Synagogenplatz (Synagogue Square Memorial) commemorates Tübingen's Jewish history. The memorial was erected in 2000. The steel cube with its punched-out squares symbolizes the destroyed synagogue. The 101 openings represent the Jewish women and men who lived in Tübingen in 1933 and who were expelled or killed during the following years. Their names are inscribed on plaques above the water channel. Two plaques with texts, situated on the interior side of a steel pillar, provide information about the history of Tübingen's Jewish community. Another plaque on the concrete wall behind the steel cube describes the difficulties of how to deal with the synagogue square between 1938 and 2000.
A remainder of the synagogue's cornerstone can be found in the parking garage of the residential building at Gartenstraße 33. To the left of the building, parts of the synagogue's entrance are still visible, as is the synagogue's wrought-iron garden fence. A plaque erected in 2012 identifies these traces of the former synagogue.
Image 1
- ausgegrabene Fundamente = dug-out cornerstone
- Eingang = entrance
- ehemalige Synagoge = former synagogue
- schmiedeeisener Zaun = wrought-iron fence
- Neubau Mehrfamilienhaus = newly built residential building
- Zugang zur ehemaligen Synagoge = access to former synagogue
- Synagogenplatz = Synagogue Square
- Stahlkubus mit Brunnen = steel cube with fountain
- Namenstafel = name plaques
- Stele mit Textafel = steel pillar with information plaques
- Nachbargrundstück = neighboring estate