Estonia opens synagogue for first time since Nazi era

TALLINN -- Estonia's last synagogue was wiped out in 1944, amid fierce gunfire and overhead air raids, as Nazi troops fled the Red Army's advance. But yesterday, after a six-decade wait, the country's 3,000-strong Jewish population finally donned prayer shawls and clutched siddurs, as the first synagogue since the Holocaust opened in Tallinn.

Construction of the $2m (£1m) ultra-modern design began in 2005...

Yesterday, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Israeli Vice-Premier Shimon Peres presided over the opening ceremony at the new, 180-seat synagogue...

Before the Second World War, there were about 5,000 Jews enjoying cultural autonomy in the country. In 1940, the Soviet occupation of Estonia led to the deportation of hundreds. As war intensified, many fled to the former Soviet Union. Of those that remained, almost all were slaughtered during the Holocaust. It is believed that fewer than 20 survived. Estonia was the only country in Europe to be declared "free of Jews" by the Nazis. Until yesterday, it was also the only country in Europe not to have a synagogue.