Approaching the “Orient” through pictures – the Life and Work of Jewish photographer Hermann Burchardt

The Jewish photographer and linguist Hermann Burchardt (1857–1909) was undoubtedly considered “exotic” among Jewish orientalists of his time. Over a period of seventeen years, he traveled through most Muslim countries, immortalizing people, cities and landscapes on thousands of photographic plates. The Jews of Yemen were a central part of his work, especially during his last trip in 1909.

The lecture series The Imagined Orient introduces ways of understanding German-Jewish and Israeli perspectives on the term “Orient” and explores its contradictory fantasies and realities within the spectrum of modern Jewish experiences.

The series takes us from the 18th century to the present over the course of six events as it presents various biographies, films, photographs, texts and art pieces.