Uncommon elements in the Great Synagogue that one would more likely find in a Catholic church include pulpits, kneeling benches, and a pipe organ.

During World War II, the building was confiscated and the Nazis used the Great Synagogue as a command base. Adolph Eichmann, who bunked across the way at Hotel Astoria, exhorted the troops from the pulpit of the Synagogue. The building was bombed by the Allied Forces 28 times.
It was closed from 1945 though 1991. Thanks to $10 million in donations from American Jews including Estée Lauder, Tony Curtis, and others, it was brought back to its original glory.