The block was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990 by the Stiftung Neue Synagoge Berlin-Centrum Judaicum.
Rectangular, hollow, red, cast decorative block, 11.75" h x 8.87" w x 8." depth. The front has an inset relief design of 2 intertwined leaves surrounded by a circle with concentric lines, within a square with a stepped lip border. It is partially covered with dark gray paint. The left side has a circular hole in the center, 1 inch deep. The back is open. The cornice is attached to a wooden presentation plank. Note: This block and 1990.159.2 are attached to a plank which lacks an accession number. The object description for the plank is included here, pending another resolution. Rectangular, stained and varnished wooded plank serving as a commemorative mounting for 2 building bricks (1990.159.1, 1990.159.2). There are 2 handles cut through on each side. Attached near the bottom edge are 3 rectangular, brass colored, metal plaques with German text. The cornices are above the plaques, equidistant from the edges. (Materials: wood, metal, varnish, stain, adhesive)
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overall: Height: 15.625 inches (39.688 cm) | Width: 29.500 inches (74.93 cm) | Depth: 0.750 inches (1.905 cm)
Decorative block from the southern facade of the 1866 Neue Synagoge [New Synagogue] in Berlin. It was used as a model to cast additional handformed ceramic construction pieces in the Grossraeschen (Sachsen) brick factory during a rebuilding of the facade in 1988. Originally named the Oranienburger Strasse Synagogue, it had seating for 3000 and was the largest in Germany. It was damaged by rioters during the Kristallnacht pogrom on November 9-10, 1938, but was still used by the dwindling Jewish community of Berlin under Nazi rule. In 1940, the German Army seized the building to use as a warehouse for uniforms. It was heavily damaged by Allied bombings in 1943. It was later further dismantled under the East German regime after the war. The synagogue has been partially restored and now serves as a monument and museum.
Decorative block from the Neue Synagoge in Berlin, mounted on a commemorative plank with a cast facsimile