It’s always amazing to discover things you never knew about (yet!), especially when it concerns the fairly recent history of your own country. Jewish life in the GDR was definitely one of those things for me. The exhibition “Another Country – Jewish in the GDR” at the Jewish Museum Berlin is currently following in its footsteps. Visual art, films, literature, multi-layered biographies and extraordinary exhibits are the focus of this cultural-historical exhibition. With text, images, sound and film, installations, concerts, readings and other events, these histories are woven into a documentary narrative. The view of Jewish perspectives and experiences in East Germany is actively narrated – before and after the reunification period until today. Individual life stories of contemporary witnesses provide insights, provide touching and moving testimonies. Why did Jews return to Germany after the liberation of National Socialism, why did they choose the GDR? What was Jewish life like under the GDR regime? But the exhibition is worth a visit not only from the point of view of content, but also from an artistic-aesthetic perspective. Leon Kahane’s mixed-media installation “from me to we” was designed especially for the exhibition, and the other artistic works by Yael Reuveny, Silvia Dzubas, Lea Grundig, Barbara Honigmann, Marion Kahnemann and Vera Singer continue to echo in one’s mind long after leaving the exhibition. It is always amazing to realize how wonderful it is to experience something new.
Text: Hilka Dirks / Photos: Jens Ziehe & Gerhard Zadek / Credit: Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Schenkung von Ruth Zadek
Jüdisches Museum, Lindenstr.9-14, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Mon–Sun 10–19h. Latest entry 18h.
Ein anderes Land — Jüdisch in der DDR until 14.01.2024
@juedischesmuseumberlin
