Erich Kastan, Photograph of the Temple on Innenraums des Tempels Oberstraße, Hamburg, 1937

    Printed in: Erich Kastan / Bruno Italiener (Ed.), Festschrift zum 120jährigen Bestehen des Israelitischen Tempels in Hamburg 1817-1937, Hamburg 1937, p. 40.

    Source Description

    This black and white photograph of the interior of the Temple at Oberstraße was published in 1937. It was taken by Erich Kastan, a photographer of Jewish origin who lived in Hamburg at the time. The image presents an overview of the space including the essential elements of a synagogue: the floor-to-ceiling niche with the Ark-Bimah unit and the organ case at the back, the ground floor pews in front of it, and the rising side galleries to the left and right. This photograph, along with several others taken by Kastan, was used to illustrate an article written by Felix Ascher Felix Ascher (b. 1883 in Hamburg, d. 1952 in London), architect; numerous buildings in Hamburg, including the Temple on Oberstraße (1931, together with Robert Friedmann). Ca. 1938 he emigrated to Great Britain, further buildings there. titled “Der neue Tempel.” Ascher was one of the two architects of this synagogue which was inaugurated in 1931, his partner was Robert Friedmann Robert Friedmann (b. 1880 in Hamburg, dt. 1940 in Jerusalem), architect; numerous buildings in Hamburg, including the Temple on Oberstraße (1931, together with Felix Ascher). He emigrated in 1933 to Palestine, further buildings there.. His article appeared in 1937 in the “Festschrift zum hundertzwanzigjährigen Bestehen des Israelitischen Tempels in Hamburg 1817-1937“ (Hamburg 1937), a book celebrating the Temple’s 120-year anniversary published by Bruno Italiener. There is no known negative or contemporary print of this photograph, so it only survives as part of this publication.

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    Recommended Citation

    Erich Kastan, Photograph of the Temple on Innenraums des Tempels Oberstraße, Hamburg, 1937, edited in: Key Documents of German-Jewish History, <https://dx.doi.org/10.23691/jgo:source-87.en.v1> [October 11, 2024].