The Dammtor Synagogue was created in 1894/95 based on a design by the architects Schlepps & Rzekonski in neo-Islamic style, totally hidden from view behind the
Wilhelminian (Gründerzeit) apartment blocks at the present-day Allende Square. Yet the colorful brick patterns, horseshoe arches, column capitals, the colorful decor of the interior space and most especially the ornamentation on the eastern wall recalled only in vague allusion Islamic paradigms. The interior design reflected the moderate liberal religious ritual of the New Dammtor Synagogue Association: the Torah lectern before the Torah ark was banished, the separation between genders was retained by means of low-latticed women’s galleries, and there was a special gallery for a four-voice choir without organ. Probably this decision on a moderate level of reform in ritual influenced the choice of the style of construction. It appeared suitable for demonstrating self-assurance without rejecting the Jewish tradition, in a time when the greater majority of Jewish Communities sought to avoid any allusions to or reminders of the Oriental origins of Judaism by consciously employing neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque elements of ecclesiastical architectural style. During the November 1938 pogrom, the interior was demolished; subsequently restored by private financial means, Ashkenazic Jews of all tendencies gathered together here for worship until the seizure and confiscation of the synagogue in June 1943. Shortly thereafter, the synagogue and front buildings were destroyed during bombing raids on the city. A memorial stone on a small grassy area directly next to the university building in the former “Horse Stable” recalls the New Dammtor Synagogue.
