Erich-Klibansky-Platz
A Cologne memorial square whose Lion Fountain bears the names of 1,100 murdered Jewish children — built on the former site of the Adass Jeschurun congregation.
Located in Altstadt-Nord along Helenenstraße, Erich-Klibansky-Platz takes its name from Erich Klibansky, the last headmaster of the Jewish Jawne reform secondary school. The square was named in his honour in 1990.
At a Glance
- Type
- Small square, pedestrians only
- Location
- Altstadt-Nord, Innenstadt district, western end of Helenenstraße
- Surroundings
- Between St.-Apern-Straße and Albertusstraße, opposite the main entrance of the Pullman conference hotel
- Highlight
- Lion Fountain as a memorial (1997)
- Commemoration
- 1,100 murdered Jewish children from Cologne
- History
- Former site of the Jewish congregation Adass Jeschurun, with synagogue and schools
The Lion Fountain on the square was created by Hermann Gurfinkel – one of the 130 pupils Klibansky rescued by organizing their escape to Great Britain in 1938, who as an adult thus created a memorial to his savior.
Source: Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-06-26
History of the Site
In the mid-19th century, St.-Apern-Straße was a residential and commercial district for wealthy citizens, characterised by antique shops largely in Jewish hands. In 1884, the orthodox congregation Adass Jeschurun built a synagogue and teacher training seminary here. The congregation also ran the Morijah Jewish primary school, and around 1919 added the Jawne reform secondary school. In November 1938 the synagogue's interior was destroyed; by the end of the war, none of the buildings remained. Today's square emerged from the wartime reshaping of the city.
The Lion Fountain
The square's centrepiece is a fountain adorned with the Lion of Judah — a Gur Aryeh, Hebrew for "young lion". Bronze plaques around the basin bear the names of 1,100 murdered Jewish children from Cologne. Erected in 1997, the fountain also honours Erich Klibansky, who in 1938 arranged the emigration of 130 of his pupils to Great Britain, saving their lives. Its creator, sculptor Hermann Gurfinkel, was one of those rescued children.
The 2020 Incident
In July 2020, activists from "Animal Rebellion Cologne" dyed the fountain's water red. Because the site is a place of remembrance, Jewish organisations and the Cologne Jewish community sharply criticised the action. The activists later apologised and expressed regret for having unintentionally caused offence to Jewish culture.
Commemoration and Exhibitions
From the 1980s onwards, Dieter and Irene Corbach spent years gathering material on Cologne's history under National Socialism; after Dieter Corbach's death, the collection passed to the city's NS-Documentation Centre, giving rise to the exhibition "Die Jawne zu Köln". A 2007 exhibition titled "The Children in the Neighbouring Schoolyard" revisited the former buildings of the Adass Jeschurun congregation at St.-Apern-Straße 29–31, conveying what everyday school life looked like for a Jewish school in the 1920s and 1930s.
Timeline
- 1884Synagogue of the orthodox community Adass Jeschurun built
- 1884Teachers' seminary attached to the synagogue
- 1907–1909District office building (today's Kreishausgalerie) built on adjacent plot
- um 1919Jewish reform secondary school "Jawne" founded on St.-Apern-Straße
- 1938Klibansky organises escape of 130 pupils to Great Britain
- November 1938Interior of the synagogue destroyed
- 1942Jawne school buildings closed
- 1990Square named after Erich Klibansky
- 1997Lion fountain erected as memorial for 1,100 murdered Jewish children
Map
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-26