Description
Sukkah (Pol. Kuczka) is a term used to describe a built-up balcony or loggia used to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. During the 15-21 Tishri (September-October), mainly Orthodox Jews living in the cities spend seven days in a sukkah for commemorating dwelling in huts and tents during the departure from Egypt and their journey to Canaan.
The example in Gubin is a loggia located at the back of the tenement house at Dąbrowskiego 4 Str., facing the east. The building itself is located in the immediate vicinity of the now defunct synagogue. It is assumed that a small Jewish district was in this part of the city.
Gubin’s sukkah and the tenant building itself are in very poor technical condition and require immediate renovation.
Historical background
The first official records of the Jewish population in Guben date back to the beginning of the 14th century, when the community was protected by the provincial governor. Soon after, from 1348 to 1351, when the pogrom of Jews blamed for the outbreak of the Black Death took place throughout Europe, the number of its members dropped significantly. For the next half a millennium, the Jews of Guben lived mainly in the eastern part of the city, where with time the Jewish Str. (Ger.: Juden Str.) was established. This unofficial Jewish district also included Kastaniensgraben (now Dąbrowskiego Str.), where a tenement house with the described sukkah was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. Despite the fact that the Sukkot was visible from the Hindenburgplatz (now Bolesław Chrobry Park), where the Nazis organized their fascist parades and sports competitions, the sukkah was not damaged during Kristallnacht or in the following years of World War II. It is assumed that this was due to the Nazis' poor knowledge of Jewish culture and Judaist religious rituals itself has help to remain the building untouched. The sukkah looked probably as an ordinary loggia.
After the end of the war, the Poles resettled to the already Polish Gubin adapted the loggia to their needs - partly probably due to the lack of knowledge about Judaism, and partly due to the severe need living space shortage back then.
Over the years, the sukkah has partially lost its original form. It is currently in a very bad technical condition.
Information about the artists
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Artwork review
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Dąbrowskiego 4, 66-620 Gubin, Poland
Sukkah
Probably the beginning of the 21st century
Material: brick, glass, wood
The sukkah and the tenant house can be viewed 24/7 from the side of Chrobry Square, with the request not to disturb the residents of the tenement house.
