On the 9th and 10 of November, 1938, Nazi thugs throughout Germany, and German-occupied Austria and Czech Sudetenland, burned, wrecked or destroyed over 1,400 synagogues. Jewish shops were plundered. Jewish men arrested and sent to concentration camps.At the end of this app, you can find the personal story of one of those caught up on Reichspogromnacht, Louis Hirschfeld, who we found, in his 80s, giving bar mitzvah lessons in London.Here in Berlin, thugs set the great Oranienburgstraße synagogue on fire. But suddenly, a policeman demanded a local fire brigade extinguish the blaze. And they did. Even as Jews fled Berlin, services continued here until 1943, when, with almost no congregants left and bombs falling through its roof, the doors were bolted shut.The synagogue was badly damaged during the war and the entire sanctuary was pulled down in 1958—leaving the front of building intact but the dome had collapsed or torn down for safety reasons.On November 9th, 1988, fifty years after Nazis tried to burn down the synagogue, members of the central committee of Communist East Germany stood before the doors of this great synagogue while the Jewish community’s president, Dr Peter Kirschner, unveiled a plaque and announced the Neue Synagogue would be restored.And as you saw, it was.Once again: we encourage you to visit this fine museum.