In a ceremony held in Simferopol, Crimea, the local Jewish community was returned the Talmud Torah building, which was constructed between 1913 and 1915 and served as a central educational hub at the beginning of the 20th century.
The return was made possible after the personal intervention of Russian President Vladimir Putin, following a request from the Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar.
The building, designed as a central educational institution after the merger of three Talmud Torah schools in the city, featured classrooms on the ground floor and a large assembly hall on the second floor. However, it functioned as an educational institution for only two years before being closed.
In the winter of 1941, during the Nazi occupation, the building served as a concentration point for the city's Jews: Over 4,000 Jews were held there under harsh conditions before being transported to one of the execution sites in the area, where they were murdered along with about 14,000 other Jews. A memorial plaque was placed on the building's wall in 2009.
The community plans to transform the site into an active center that will include educational frameworks for children and adults, Jewish history and Hebrew language classes, cultural events, and a support center for needy community members.