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Leopoldstädter Tempel: what Wikipedia removed

The Leopoldstädter Tempel was a Vienna synagogue completed in 1858 in the Moorish Revival style. Through 2010 the opening said it was destroyed by National Socialist militants on the Night of Broken Glass, November 10, 1938. Today the word militant is gone from the article entirely, and the opening says only that ‘the synagogue was destroyed as a result of Kristallnacht,’ naming no actor. A reader arriving now learns the synagogue was destroyed during Kristallnacht, not who destroyed it.

The word “militant” appeared 1 times in this article’s opening at its peak, in 2010. Today it appears nowhere in the article at all, references included. Checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01.

The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot

Section titled “The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot”
word2010201520206 October 20232025
militant10000

Counts are of the opening paragraph only, the part most readers, search engines and AI training sets ever quote.

What was taken out

Section titled “What was taken out”
  • An image caption crediting a painting of the synagogue’s interior by Rudolf von Alt is gone from the opening.
  • The sentence naming the synagogue’s Moorish Revival style and architect is gone, though the completion date survives elsewhere in today’s opening.
  • A sentence giving the exact date, November 10 1938, and the term Reichskristallnacht is gone, replaced by a shorter reference to Kristallnacht without the date.
  • The clause naming National Socialist militants as the ones who destroyed the synagogue is gone from the article entirely.

How it opened then, and now

Section titled “How it opened then, and now”

2010 (revision 361492787):

The Leopoldstädter Tempel, painted by Rudolf von Alt Inside view of the Leopoldstädter Tempel The Leopoldstädter Tempel was the largest synagogue of Vienna , in the district (Bezirk) of Leopoldstadt . It was also known as the Israelitische Bethaus in der Wiener Vorstadt Leopoldstadt . It was built in 1858 in a Moorish Revival style by the architect Ludwig Förster . The tripartite facade of the Leopoldstädter with its tall central section flanked by lower wings on each side became the model for numerous Moorish Revival synagogues, including the Zagreb Synagogue , the Spanish Synagogue in Prague , the Tempel Synagogue in Krakow and Templul Coral in Bucharest . It was destroyed during the Reich…

2025 (revision 1258629234):

Former synagogue in Vienna, Austria Inside view of the Leopoldstädter Tempel. Aquarelle by Emil Ranzenhofer The Leopoldstädter Tempel , also known as the Israelitische Bethaus in der Wiener Vorstadt Leopoldstadt , ( lit. “Israelite prayer house in the Vienna suburb of Leopoldstadt”) was a Jewish congregation and synagogue , located on Tempelgasse 5, in Leopoldstadt , in the 2nd district of Vienna , Austria . Completed in 1858, the synagogue was destroyed as a result of Kristallnacht . A monument marks the location of the former synagogue.

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