A huge and diverse Jewish heritage is concentrated on the territory of modern Ukraine. Today, in the conditions of a bloody, protracted and destructive war with the russian aggressor, these sights are in danger of disappearing. A special place is occupied by synagogue buildings with surviving fragments of wall paintings, which are a source of valuable information about the spiritual, religious, cultural and social aspects of the life of the Jewish community before the Holocaust. Until now, no more than ten structures (former and active synagogues) with remnants of paintings have been preserved on the territory of Ukraine. They are of great value for science and culture not only in Ukraine, but also in the whole of Europe, where such objects have become very rare as a result of their purposeful destruction during the Holocaust.
Due to the lack of capable Jewish communities, due attention from their new owners/users, as well as state management bodies in the field of cultural heritage, most buildings of this type are in a neglected state in Ukraine and are undergoing a rapid process of destruction. At the same time, any conservation measures, let alone restoration, are impossible in wartime conditions.
At the moment the only way to prevent the irreversible loss of existing examples of synagogue painting is to preserve scientifically verified visual information obtained with the help of modern digital technologies and, in particular, laser 3D scanning. Similar technologies have been widely used in Western Europe for some time, and with the beginning of russian aggression in Ukraine to document the most valuable architectural monuments. The digital data obtained in this way can be used not only for the study of the phenomenon of synagogue wall painting as such by modern and future historians and art historians, but also under favorable conditions for restoration and museification. In autumn 2023, an international scientific working group was constituted, the "Working Group Jewish Architectural Heritage in Ukraine". Its members include experts from disciplines such as art history, restoration science, digital cultural history and Jewish studies, including the applicants. The ideal formulated here is a modular approach that combines the goals of documentation, research, preservation and communication to a wider public.
It is advisable to begin the process of documenting with laser 3D scanning with three monuments that have been preserved on the territory of the historic region of Bukovyna. The process has been scientifically tested and the working group on Jewish cultural heritage includes experienced scientists from Mainz University of Applied Sciences who take into account the current quality standards of corresponding digital workflows in both practical and theoretical terms. In the Future the initial objects can act as examples for applying the experience gained to other Jewish heritage sites in Ukraine.
The three monuments are the current Beit Tfilah Benyamin synagogue, the former Great Synagogue Groise Shil (both in Chernivtsi), and the former New Great Synagogue in Novoselytsia (Chernivtsi oblast). The Beit Tfilah Benyamin synagogue (built in 1923) and the New Great Synagogue in Novoselytsia (built in 1919) have almost complete ensembles of paintings that indicate a single iconographic tradition in the region. In the former Groise Shil synagogue (built in 1854), the murals of the small prayer hall were preserved and uncovered (2012), while in the large hall a significant part of the murals is hidden under later layers of plaster and soot after a fire and needs to be uncovered.
Scanning of these synagogues will allow us to document these monuments, make a digital reconstruction of their original appearance, and trace the development of the tradition of synagogue painting from at least the mid-nineteenth century to the time of the Holocaust. This will also serve as a good example of the application of a sophisticated methodology for digital documentation of other similar sites of Jewish heritage in Ukraine threatened by the war.
Project goal: Documenting the remnants of synagogue wall paintings, which are threatened with disappearance, in former and current synagogues in the Ukrainian part of the historical region of Bukovyna using laser 3D scanning with subsequent computer processing and placing the obtained digital data on a specialized web resource.
The main types and sequence of works:
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- Obtaining written permits for digital documentation of buildings selected for the project from local state bodies for the protection of cultural heritage, owners/users of the relevant objects.
- Carrying out preparatory work directly on the objects.
- Laser 3D scanning of interior spaces and exterior architectural outlines of buildings selected for the project by specialists of a Ukrainian firm Skeiron that has relevant experience and provides such services on a commercial basis. We have already worked with this company in the past.
- Processing of the received digital data for each scanned object by specialists of the company that carried out the scanning, in order to bring them to a state suitable for use.
- Scientific support and consulting, as well as preparation of accompanying descriptive materials by a Ukrainian scientist-specialist in the field of synagogue painting.
- Placing ready digital data for each scanned object on a specialized web site by a specially engaged IT specialist.