In the pictures, you can see the interior of the synagogue and some of the items from its Judaica collection. In the first picture there is a crown. The second picture shows the decorated aron ha-Kodesh, which contains the Torah scrolls. The third picture shows the grid openings, behind which women used to stand during the service.
According to the racial and other laws, which came into force almost immediately after the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), all Jewish property was confiscated, and Jews were subsequently deported to camps. This included the synagogue, which was the property of the Jewish Municipality, as well as the vast judaica housed within it. The term Judaica refers to valuable objects, books and works of art used during religious ceremonies and the celebration of Jewish holidays, holy books of Talmud and Torah, together with the works of Jewish scientists, thinkers and philosophers. Judaica of Dubrovnik Synagogue consisted of numerous such objects, among which are decorated Torahs (written laws of God, Old Testament, and basis of Jewish religion), tasis (and breastplate, on which selected quotations from Torah are written), rimonim (a decorated object which is placed on the top of the Torah scroll handle, used for easier opening of the scroll), crowns, tapestries, that had been collected and preserved by the Jewish Municipality for centuries. Some of these objects had been brought from Spain and Portugal in the 15th century when Jews began to settle in Dubrovnik. Although the Ustasha government confiscated Jewish properties, Judaica of the Dubrovnik synagogue did not disappear permanently during that period.
Listen to the story of how Judaica was preserved by Mirjam Ferrara.
Why do you think Judaica from the synagogue held significance for the Jewish community of that era, and why is it still significant to their descendants today?