Jewish community in Hrodna is seeking volunteers: help is needed to save the historical building.
The fire in the Great Choral synagogue happened on the night of 26th/27th of November. A slab between the third and the fourth floor was destroyed; a scroll of the Tora miraculously remaining intact.
{movie}Hrodna synagogue on fire.|right|13486{/movie}
At 3 am Hrodna firemen were alarmed by policemen who were driving in the vicinity of the synagogue. A canteen on the third floor was on fire. According to the Ministry of Emergencies, violation of equipment operating rules must have caused the fire, in particular, fluedust set ablaze. There were no injured in the incident.
The representatives of the city’s Jewish community are asking for volunteers’ assistance: they are facing eliminating the damage and pumping water out of the building. All indifferent people can come and offer their help today.
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The Great Synagogue of Hrodna dates back to 1576: it was built by Santi Gucci.The synagogue burned down in 1902, but ewish community built another synagogue in the eclectic and moorish style. In the period of the Second World War Nazis turned it into a collecting point from where Jewish residents of Hrodna were transported to concentration camps. In the Soviet times the building was converted into a warehouse.
