Synagogue, Gymnasium or Storeroom? The Jewish Community in the city of Pilsen in the interwar Period throught the Perspective of Space
Abstract
The Jewish Community in the city of Pilsen (Bohemia) passed since the middle of the 19th century until 1938 through a very fast and dynamic development, as attested by the increase in the number of the community members or the construction of the monumental synagogue in the city center. The paper will focus on the factors affecting the shaping of this community's identity pertaining to the spatial aspects.
Using the example of the discussions led by the Pilsen Jewish community religious council about the use of the so called old synagogue (which was built in 1859 and lost its meaning after the construction of the new one after 1892) the paper tries to answer the question, how space affected the identity shaping of the Jewish community in this period, what was the role of the sacral space and secularization for the community. As the main methodological inspiration the paper uses the perspective of spatial turn in Jewish studies.