Dilemmas of Heritage, Destruction and Memorial: Two Lost ‘Cathedrals’— The Intertwined Fate of the Great Synagogue of Vilna and the Ḥurva Synagogue of Jerusalem

The issue of authenticity, continuity and the reconstruction of lost monuments has been the subject of vigorous debate in the philosophy and methodology of heritage conservation since its inception and especially after the Second World War and the collapse of the Soviet bloc. This article discusses the intertwined history of the Great Synagogue of Vilna (Vilnius) in Lithuania and the Ḥurva Synagogue of Jerusalem. Both synagogues, which had been the main ‘cathedral’ shrines for the Jewish communities of Vilna and Jerusalem, were destroyed during the conflict, leaving ruins in their place. After many years of loss and given their importance, an opportunity arose to memorialize or reconstruct these monuments. Special attention is given to the significance of these two synagogues as places of identity and to the way in which changing dynamics in the ethics of heritage management concerning the reconstruction of lost built cultural heritage have affected outcomes at these two sites.