Synagogues in Germany

International Exhibition at the Paul H. Cocker Gallery, Ryerson University

March 16 – April 21, 2017
Paul H. Cocker Gallery, Ryerson University
325 Church St, Toronto, ON

Currently on the Canadian leg of a major international tour, this large and interactive multimedia exhibition from Germany has made its way to Toronto following a show at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

The work represented in this exhibition began following the 1994 firebombing of a Lübeck synagogue, the first attack on a Jewish house of worship in Germany since 1945. Architectural research at Darmstadt Technical University has resulted in elaborate 3D digital reconstructions of more than 25 of over 1000 synagogues destroyed on Kristallnacht. Visitors can explore a selection of these digital models from one of the ten different computer workstations on which they are installed. Along with associated placards, photographs, text panels, books, and three documentary films, these reconstructions speak to the nature and significance of cultural loss as an instrument of genocide. They also visually document the extraordinary architectural variety and historical importance of the buildings destroyed by the Nazis, and in so doing contribute to commemorative work ongoing in the wake of the Holocaust by providing a source for reflection on what the historical destruction of Jewish culture means today. 

The exhibition will be open weekly: 

Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

Extended or alternative hours for group visits can also be arranged. Admission is free. 

The exhibition and related programming have been made possible thanks to the generous assistance of the Federal Republic of Germany / the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), the German Consulate General – Toronto, Ryerson University, the University of Manitoba, and the Paul H. Cocker Gallery.

For more information and more images, including information about how to arrange group visits, please contact the communications and archive specialist: [email protected].

Press Release Format with images