German-Jewish history is complex, often painful, and always emotionally charged. The task of telling it and depicting Jewish life as it is lived today in Berlin and throughout Germany is equally challenging and essential, especially given the rising levels of anti-Semitic and racist violence. The Jewish Museum in Berlin, the largest in Europe, has always been aware of this responsibility. Like the building by the US architect Daniel Libeskind himself, the museum is a place of fragmentation, where memory and future find their equal place. The new permanent exhibition achieves the balancing act between history, tradition, and the present: the historical tour describes the journey of the Jewish community from its first geographical location in Germany to the everyday life of German Jews today. Jewish traditions become not only tangible but also accessible: A veil of colorful chain links separates Jewish everyday life from the holy Shabbat. Well-known Jewish personalities such as “colorful pop stars” present themselves in the Hall of Fame, including publicist Hannah Arendt, ethnologist Claude Lévi-Strauss and women’s rights activist Bertha Pappenheim. The new exhibition manages to do justice to the complexity of Jewish life by bringing together different historical aspects and giving the present the space it deserves. (Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Credits: Jüdisches Museum Berlin / Photos: Maerz, Sucksdorff)
Core Exhibition: Jewish Life in Germany: Past & Present
Jewish Museum Berlin, Lindenstr.9–14, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Mon–Sun 10–19h
@juedischesmuseumberlin
