Archaeologists uncover new section of great Synagogue in Vilnius's floor, devastated by Nazis and Soviets

A team of archaeologists discovered parts of the floor of the Great Synagogue in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Thursday. The remnants of the 17th-century synagogue floor show the level of devastation under Nazi Germany and Soviet oppression.

The archaeological excavation was carried out on behalf of the IAA, the Association of Lithuanian Archaeology and the Lithuanian Jewish community.

The synagogue was burned and looted during the Nazi occupation of Vilnius between 1941 and 1944. In the 1950s, the Soviet regime razed the remains of the synagogue, and a local school was built on the site.

Prior to World War II, Vilnius was home to a thriving and large Jewish community and recognized as an important center for Jewish learning. Known in the Jewish world as Jerusalem of Lithuania, Vilnius (or Vilna) was home to more than 100 synagogues. In addition, the city is intimately associated with Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna (or the Vilna Gaon), an 18th-century Jewish spiritual leader and thinker who is ranked one of the greatest rabbis in European Jewish history. Many of Gaon’s disciples later settled in the State of Israel.

Excavation directors Jon Seligman and Justinas Rakas said the devastation of the once impressive synagogue symbolizes the rise and fall of the local Jewish community that was almost entirely wiped out during the Holocaust.

“The architectural wealth and vitality we encounter – alongside the destruction of impressive giant columns that collapsed during the destruction of the synagogue by the Nazis and the Soviets – tell the tragic story of a community that lived here, that is no more,” said Seligman and Rakas.

The archaeologists uncovered findings from the 17th and 18th centuries, including remnants of the women’s section and a large basin used for religious ritual bathing in the synagogue.

Before the Holocaust, some 160,000 Jews lived in Lithuania, constituting around 7% of the nation's total population. Today, fewer than 3,000 Jews currently live in the Baltic state, primarily due to destruction and emigration.

Eli Escusido, director of the IAA, said the devastation of the once-thriving Jewish community in Vilnius is a warning.

“In the face of rising antisemitism and attempts to deceive and deny, there is one undeniable truth, both simple and tragic, which tells us about an entire magnificent community that was destroyed due to hatred of Jews: Never Again,” Escusido said.

Lithuania and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1991 at the end of the Cold War. Lithuania’s path towards democracy and membership in the European Union and NATO has transformed the nation into a free society that encourages Jewish culture and strong relations with Israel.

In June 2023, the Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė described Israel as “the best antidote against Iranian weapons.”

However, critics blasted the Lithuanian prime minister for failing to mention her country’s tragic antisemitic past, including its collaboration with the Nazi regime that wiped out 90% of the Lithuanian Jews.

“It’s absolutely pathetic,” said Efraim Zuroff, a Nazi hunter and director of Eastern European Affairs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, California, adding that the Holocaust is still “an indescribable trauma upon Lithuania, leaving lasting scars that persist even to this day.”