A house of prayer belonging to the Associations of Mishnah Students, also called “Vereins Synagoge Chewra Mischnajoth”. Initially, the association had no seat of its own, and its members used to meet in a house of prayer owned by the Hasidim of Chrzanów (so-called shtibl of Chrzanów), located in contemporary Szpitalny square (present ks. Jana Skarbka square). In 1912, a property was bought from the married couple of Józef and Gizela Glass, while in 1913 efforts were devoted to initiate the construction of a synagogue seat and a house of prayer. The synagogue started operating from September 1918 at the latest, although, as indicated by Eleonora Bergman and Jan Jagielski, the synagogue had been opened in 1900. It was a rectangular building, 12mx15m, with the elongated north-south axis; its northern part was separated. On the inside, on the east wall, to the right of the Aron Kodesh, a shiviti plaque is preserved with an inscription: ‘the synagogue was erected thanks to Minda Cwajtel on the anniversary of her husband, Szlama Zelman, in 1900’. There is also another plaque, in the northern section of the temple, dated from 1928 and commemorating the synagogue ritual assistants (gabbaim): Jakir [?] Zinger, Chaim Goldsztajn and Alter Najberg”[1.1], which today is the only original element of the pre-war décor. The temple was divided into two sections, for men and for women. As stated in the documents, the members of the synagogue council in 1928 were Yakir Zinger, Chaim Goldstein, Alter Neuberg[1.2]. During the war, the interior of the building was completely destroyed. German ammunition was stored inside its walls. Following World War II, the synagogue regained for some time its previous function (it was probably in the years 1945–1955). However, when the Jews of Auschwitz who survived the occupation left the town, the building again was transformed into storerooms and a carpet warehouse (1945–1955). In 1998, the synagogue was returned to the Jewish Religious Community in Bielsko-Biała, but before that, the building was listed among the historic monuments. In the same year, the community transferred the building to the Jewish Center in Auschwitz

[1.3]. The synagogue is the only preserved house of prayer in Auschwitz, and, to that, it is an example of a typical bet midrash – a study hall from the early 20th century[1.4].

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