The synagogue of the Reform community in Nuremberg was the main Jewish temple in the city. It was built between 1870 and 1874 according to a design by Adolf Wolff (1832-1885). The architect, who was active in Stuttgart, was the designer of many synagogues, including the Great Synagogue of Łódź (1881). The decision to demolish the synagogue was made in June 1938 on the explicit orders of Julius Streicher (1885–1946), the Gauleiter, or regional leader, of Franconia. According to the Nazis, who were preparing a new urban plan, the building "disrupted the beautiful city landscape". The synagogue and the building used as the seat of the Jewish Community Council were demolished on 10 August 1938, even before the November pogroms that took place during Kristallnacht (https://www.xn--jdische-gemeinden-22b.de/index.php/gemeinden/m-o/1474-nuernberg-mittelfranken-bayernm, accessed on 9 April 2021).
The former synagogue is now commemorated by a monument and a memorial plaque established in 1971 and 1988, a model of the synagogue standing in the hall of the seat of the Jewish Community Council, as well as numerous archival photographs and postcards (https://www.alemannia-judaica.de/nuernberg_synagoge.htm, accessed on 9 April 2021).
The postcard in the collection of the District Museum in Leszno depicts the synagogue from the side of the Pegnitz River. Behind the buildings descending towards the riverbed, the high dome of the synagogue and a fragment of one of its two small towers emerge. In the foreground, there is a view of the river with the Hospital Bridge looming in the distance. Both banks of the river are densely populated with houses built on high foundations, partially reflected in the turquoise water. There are wooden galleries on the facades of the tenements. The red-tiled rooflines are interrupted by numerous mansard roofs. In the background, to the right, there is silhouette of the Holy Spirit Church, followed by the hospital's buildings that are dedicated to the same patron. The inscription "NUREMBERG/ Section of the Pegnitz River at Schütt Island" is printed at the top edge of the postcard. On the reverse side, in the top right and bottom right corners, there are two postmarks: "NUREMBERG/ 17.4.11. 3-4N.”. The postcard was addressed to Meta Poslušna from Brno.
The postcard was purchased for the collection of the District Museum in Leszno in 2012 from from Marta Pogoreło of Leszno.
Dariusz Czwojdrak
