Here is a text set I developed for studying the German Jewish Experience in Berlin. German Jews have influenced culture more than most students and even teachers realize. The number of intellectuals, writers, artists, political figures, and scientists within this community is impressive. Here is just a sampling of texts one could use in the classroom.
The Virtual Jewish
History Tour Berlin
David Shyovitz
This interactive site gives a brief overview of German
Jewish history from the middle ages to the present. It includes information
about important locations and famous Berlin Jews.
This site would be a really great activity to introduce a
thematic unit on German Jewish Culture in Berlin. It provides students with a
framework to organize information they will learn from the other texts.
Reading Level: 7-12
Jewish Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum Berlin contains permanent and special
collections pertaining to the German Jewish experience. Even the architecture
of the building evokes emotions associated with the Holocaust. The shape of the
building reminds one of Kristallnacht
and a broken star of David. The interior of the building even when filled with
exhibits and visitors takes the abstract idea of void and makes it tangible.
I choose this as part of the text set because the architect
Daniel Libeskind is of Jewish descent. His most famous accomplishment is
winning the competition to be the lead architect on the World Trade Center in
New York.
Reading Level: 7-12
Nathan the Wise
(1779)
Gotthold
Ephraim Lessing
This play set
in Jerusalem eloquently argues for religious tolerance through a fictitious
meeting during the Third Crusade between a Jewish merchant, an enlightened
Muslim sultan, and a Templar. The play was first performed in 1783 in Berlin
and was later banned by the church.
I am including
this text because the central character Nathan was modeled on the famous German
Jewish philosopher, Moses Mendelsohn. Mendelsohn, a Berliner, was the first to
translate the Pentateuch into German. The point of view in Lessing’s work
reflects the belief in religious tolerance shared by most educated,
upper-middle class, Berlin Jews.
Reading Level:
9-12
Gedichte (1821)
Heinrich Heine
This is Heine’s
first published collection of poetry. This collection appeared while he was
living in Berlin.
This collection
is important to my text collection because Heine is one of the most well-known
German poets of all time who also happens to be Jewish. Heine did not consider
himself a Jew and converted to Christianity as a young man, however, he began
to explore Judaism later in life. While in Berlin, Heine played a large role in
the café culture of Berlin. He influenced and was influenced by other important
writers and artists of the time.
Reading Level:
11-12
The Jewish State
(1896)
Theodor Herzl
This work addresses the “Jewish question” and the anti-Semitism
that permeated European society. It is a call to Jews around the world to
create a Zionist state in Israel. It was highly controversial and widely read.
Even though Herzl was Austrian, I have included his work in
this collection because it would have been widely read by Berlin Jews and
influenced their thinking about the “Jewish question.”
Reading Level: 10-12
Man Equals Man (1926)
Bertolt Brecht
This play examines the role of war on the human condition.
It belongs to the post-Expressionist movement, Neue Sachlichkeit, that developed in Berlin during the Weimar
Republic.
I am including this text because it deals with identity and
human nature and it was written by one of the most famous Jews in Berlin,
although he did not consider himself Jewish, in the time leading up to World
War Two.
Reading Level: 11-12
Mother Courage and
Her Children (1939)
Bertolt Brecht
This is considered by many to be the greatest play of the 20th
century. It is in the genre of Exile literature. It was written by Brecht while
in Switzerland and speaks out against fascism and Nazism.
I am including this work because I consider Brecht the best
example of an intellectual Berlin Jew who used his craft to speak out against
the Nazis and the ugly side of human nature in general. It helped bring the
severity of life under the Nazi regime into the international consciousness.
Reading Level: 10-12
The Minutes of the
Wannsee Conference (1942)
Translation by the US government
The Wannsee Conference is the meeting Nazi leaders held to
determine the “Final Solution” to carry out the extermination of the Jews.
I am including this in my text set because no treatment of
the Jewish experience is complete without it. The Wannsee House where the
conference was held is located in a very upscale neighborhood on the outskirts
of Berlin. The house originally belonged to a Jewish family and was confiscated
the by Nazis. Today it is a center for historical education and contains a
permanent exhibit documenting the experience of Berlin Jews during Nazi
Germany.
Reading Level: 7-12
The Holocaust
Education and Archive Research Team
H.E.A.R.T. is an organization that documents the events from
the Holocaust from beginning to end. The site also provides survivor
testimonies and transcripts from the Wannsee Confernce.
I am including this website in my collection because it is an
excellent and comprehensive tool for students to learn about the social climate
that allowed the Holocaust to happen, the experience during the Holocaust and
the impact of the devastation of the Jewish population.
Reading Level: 7-12
The World As I See It
(1949)
Albert Einstein
This book is a collection of interviews, correspondence, and
reflections. Einstein reveals his thoughts about everything from science,
politics, and religion, to the meaning of life.
I am including this work in my collection because Einstein
lived and worked in Berlin. He never considered himself Jewish by religion and
had difficulty believing he was in danger during the Nazi regime. Finally,
friends persuaded him to leave and come to the United States where he played a
very important role in convincing our leaders of the advanced technology
possessed by Nazi Germany. While Einstein detested war, he realized that the
world could not afford for the Nazis to create the atom bomb first. His
research and work here allowed us to create the atom bomb first and changed the
course of history. Students in East Tennessee may relate particularly to this
work due to our close proximity to Oak Ridge, a key location of the Manhattan
Project.
Reading Level: 9-12
“Die Lösung” (1953)
Bertolt Brecht
This poem written by Brecht in East Germany after the
uprising of 1953 is a searing commentary on government. The poem was not
published at that time because Brecht was an official supporter of the
Stalinist government.
I am including this in my text set as an example of the
German Jewish in East Berlin. Brecht was one of the few public figures who had
the courage to continue to thumb his nose at the political powers in spite of
his earlier experiences.
Readig Level: 7-12
Rahel Varnhagen: The
Life of a Jewess (1958)
Hannah Arendt
This biography examines the life of the most famous European
salon hostess. She was good friends with the daughters of Moses Mendelsohn and
hosted such notable figures such as Schlegel, Schelling, the Humboldts and
countless others. She was also acquainted the most celebrated of all German
authors, Goethe.
I am including the text because of Varnhagen’s prominent
place in society and prolific correspondence with other intellectuals and
political figures. She was born in Berlin to a very wealthy family and married
a Christian. She converted to Christianity and never really considered herself
to be Jewish. However she continued to work to better the position of her
colleagues and acquaintances of her former religion and willed a large sum to
the poor Jews of Berlin upon her death.
Reading Level: 7-12
The Invisible Wall:
Germans and Jews: A personal exploration (1998)
W. Michael Blumenthal
The author shares his story of German-Jewish identity, what
it means to be both German and Jewish, by tracing his family through the
changes that shaped modern Germany. Blumenthal escaped Nazi Germany in 1939 via
the Shanghai Ghettos.
I chose this text because Blumenthal became an extremely
influential world renowned political figure. He was the 64th
Secretary of the United States Treasury under Jimmy Carter. He currently
directs the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
Reading Level: 9-12
Memorial to the
Murdered Jews of Europe (2005)
The memorial opened in 2005, after 20 years of debate,
discussion, planning, and construction. Peter Eisenman’s creation occupies a
very prominent space in the government quarter of Berlin. The exhibit consists
of a Field of Stelae and a subterranean information center. The exhibit
documents the persecution and extermination of the Jews during the Third Reich.
I included this in the text selection because it continues
to be a point of contention among Germans, Berliners in particular, still
today.
Reading Level: 7-12
Jewish Community of Berlin
This website is maintained by the Jewish community in
Berlin. It contains information about events and articles that are relevant to
Berlin daily life as well reflections on the past.
I have included this site in my text set because it provides
students with an up-to-date context for the daily life and concerns of Jews
living in Berlin today.
Reading Level: 9-12
