Terry Swartzberg: New synagogue for Erlangen


Terry Swartzberg has been commissioned with the management of the “New Synagogue for Erlangen” project. The Jewish congregation in this city in central Bavaria has never had a synagogue of its own. Since being refounded in 1997, the congregation has conducted services on rental premises.

Since being entrusted in late June with the commission, Terry has staged a kick-off event and a “Festival of Jewish Life in Erlangen.” Terry’s campaign is built upon the congregation’s slogan of “We embrace our community, and they embrace us”.

The congregation in Erlangen has a history that dates back to the Middle Ages. These five centuries are a saga of taking root, making progress, and the being driven off and murdered. The leading figures of the community are Dr. Jakob Herz, Emmy Noether and Shlomo Levin.

Jakob Herz was a 19th century physician. He is regarded as the “parent of modern anatomy”. Emmy Noether was a 20th century mathematician. Her work laid the basis for advanced physics. Shlomo Levin was a rabbi and geologist. After fleeing the Nazis, Shlomo helped found the nascent Israel’s light industrial sector. Upon his return to Germany, Shlomo fought to counter Antisemitism and the rise of the Neo-Nazis. Shlomo was murdered on December 18, 1980, along with Frida Poeschke.