The community synagogue Lichtenberg was the first synagogue founded in the district known today as Friedrichshain. The synagogue was established in 1905 by the Israelitische Vereinigung Friedrichsberg und Umgebung e.V., a Jewish association initiated as part of a network of Jewish communal organizations that provided various services and support to Jewish residents in its area (the association was termed “Friedrichsberg” due to its location between Friedrichshain and Lichtenberg, district which does not exist nowadays). This was a result of the growth and expansion of the Jewish community in the neighborhood, which increased from 120 to 2,200 members. The synagogue was initially located in the backyard of Frankfurter Allee 189. However, in 1935, it was relocated to more spacious premises on the first floor of a factory building in the same street. The new location had room for around 600 people. The counseling center of the Jewish Women’s Center was located in the adjoining rooms. Furthermore, the synagogue housed a reading room for children, a branch of the Jewish community library and a Jewish youth center. In 1936, members of the Orthodox Synagogue Association Berlin Lichtenberg were incorporated into the services. 

During the November 9 pogrom of 1938, a Nazi mob desecrated the synagogue and destroyed around 20 Torah scrolls and numerous items of furniture. After these events, the district of Lichtenberg was devoid of any public Jewish life.