Leonard Freed, Simhat Torah ball, Köln, 1961; Jewish Museum Berlin, accession 2006/198/8
German Jews Today. Leonard Freed
Curator's tour (in German)
Curators Leonore Maier and Theresia Ziehe take turns guiding visitors through the exhibition German Jews Today. Leonard Freed. Find out more about the background to its creation, individual motifs and references to the present day.
Thu 23 Jan & 13 Feb & 13 & 27 Mar & 10 Apr 2025, 4 pm
Where
Old Building, ground level, “Meeting Point” in the foyer
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin
Not even 20 years after the abyss of the Holocaust, the American-Jewish photographer Leonard Freed (1929‒2006) spent several months traveling through West Germany. He wanted to use his camera to capture how German Jews were currently living. He took photographs in several Jewish communities, especially in the areas around Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.
52 of his photographs were published in 1965 under the title Deutsche Juden heute (German Jews Today) and combined with text contributions. They are part of the museum’s collection and were purchased by the photographer’s widow, Brigitte Freed. They are exhibited in their entirety for the first time.
