Visit the historic Roonstrasse Synagogue in Cologne, Germany

For all Basil Fawlty repeatedly screamed “don’t mention the war”, no visit to Germany can overlook its extraordinary 20^th century history and a visit to Cologne is no exception in this regard. Cologne was the first place Jews settled in Germany (in Roman times) and it has a huge amount of Jewish history. All six synagogues were destroyed during World War Two but a visit to the Roonstrasse Synagogue – rebuilt in 1959, is still incredibly informative.

The Roonstrasse Synagogue was destroyed on Kristallnacht but was rebuilt after the war and is now the home of the Jewish community of Cologne today. Despite being a relatively new building, it has an incredibly striking façade with some saying the architecture makes it look like something out of Gotham City – the fictional city best known as the home of Batman.

Inside the new synagogue, the decoration is equally stunning. There is a vast blue dome and the entire inside of the synagogue is beautifully – yet tastefully – decorated.

But it is the old rather than the new which brings most visitors in. First, to comprehend just how violent the Holocaust was: Cologne currently has enough Jews to keep this large synagogue going; but before World War Two there were six synagogues and thousands more Jewish inhabitants. This synagogue gives a bloody reminder of just how awful the Holocaust was.

But even more importantly, because the exhibits on display as part of the synagogue complex show the history of the Cologne Jewish community and how it was decimated. It is possible to see how large the membership was pre-1939, as well as the more heart-warming things, such as the Torah which was saved from a burning synagogue by a Catholic priest.

Nonetheless, a visit to the synagogue of Cologne is not going to be a happy experience. But it is important to visit anyway, to appreciate what happened just seventy years ago and learn about the depth of history this city has to offer.