Another Country
Jewish in the GDR – Exhibition
The Jewish Museum Berlin was showing the first-ever large-scale exhibition on Jewish experiences in East Germany. With a focus on cultural history and drawing on documentary research, the show delved into a little-examined aspect of German-Jewish history, bringing together visual art, film, and literature, as well as multifaceted biographies and exceptional artifacts.
Past exhibition
Where
Old Building, level 1
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin
The exhibition centered individual perspectives as it explores Jewish experiences in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), extending this narrative beyond Reunification to the present day. Witnesses to history and their personal stories were at the heart of the show. What motivated Jews to return to the GDR? What did it mean to be Jewish there? What kinds of relationships did Jews have with the state and its structures?
In the aftermath of the Shoah, many Jews were united by a shared desire to build an anti-fascist state in eastern Germany – “another country,” as some of them put it in interviews. Some of these returnees had fled Germany during the Nazi regime and returned after 1945 to the Soviet zone of occupation. Many had survived concentration camps or periods in hiding. In the exhibition, they talk about their experiences in exile, their survival, and their return migration.
The show is accompanied by extensive thematic programming ranging from a concert with the band Stern-Combo Meißen to a specialized conference titled ...and turning towards the future? – On Jewish History and Stories in the GDR. On Tuesday afternoons, events will also be held directly in the personal environment of the exhibition space, including readings, discussions, film screenings, and discussions with people who lived through this history.
Featuring artworks by Silvia Dzubas, Lea Grundig, Barbara Honigmann, Marion Kahnemann, Yael Reuveny and Vera Singer. The mixed-media installation from me to we by Leon Kahana was commissioned especially for the exhibition and made possible by a grant from the FRIENDS OF THE JMB.
Exhibition Information at a Glance
- 8 Sep 2023 to 14 Jan 2024
Exhibition Another Country. Jewish in the GDR: Features & Programs
- Exhibition Webpage
- Current page: Another Country. Jewish in the GDR: 8 Sep 2023 to 14 Jan 2024
- Publications
- Another Country. Jewish in the GDR: Catalog accompanying the exhibition, English edition, 2023
- Ein anderes Land. Jüdisch in der DDR: Catalog accompanying the exhibition, German edition, 2023
- Digital Content
- Voices from the GDR: Twelve short film interviews with Jewish perspectives on life and the political system, 2023, in German with English subtitles
- Come Fly With Me Over the Brandenburg Gate: A documentary by Esther Zimmering, in German
- Singled Out and Viewed Suspiciously: Jews in the GDR: Abridged version of Annette Leo’s contribution to the exhibition catalog, 2023
- Jewish in the GDR. A Road Trip with Marion and Lena Brasch: A podcast by Deutschlandfunk Kultur in cooperation with the Jewish Museum Berlin, six episodes, 2023, in German
- Jewish Local History of the GDR: Information about the communities in Dresden, Erfurt, Halle, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Chemnitz and Schwerin on Jewish Places
- City Walk Berlin-East: Tour with Jewish Places from the New Synagogue to the kosher butcher’s shop, school participation project 2022/23
- Soundtrack of the Exhibition: Playlist on Spotify
- See also
- East Germany
Study Projects on the Exhibition
Created in a seminar at the Humboldt University’s Institute for Cultural Studies with the curators of the exhibition under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Liliana Feierstein, 2021 (in German)
A Comic Strip – as Remembered by an Eyewitness An Audio Feature with Peter Schaul