The building served as a house of prayer until World War II when it was destroyed by Nazis on June 27, 1941.

It was estimated that approximately 700 to 800[a] Jewish people were inside the synagogue at the time of its destruction, by arson.

[8] On the morning of June 27, 1941, Nazi troops from Police Battalion 309 of the Ordnungspolizei surrounded the town square by the Great Synagogue and forced residents from their homes into the street.

men, women and children, were locked in the synagogue, which was then set on fire; there they burned to death.

As the flames from the synagogue spread and merged with the grenade fires, the entire square was engulfed.