Jewish Berlin- Tour

 Jewish Berlin- Tour

I was unable to take the Jewish Legacies in Central Europe class offered at my Berlin university because I was moved up a level in German.  I'm still interested in learning more about the subject so I decided to crash a class tour!

The first place we stopped on the walking tour- a memorial commemorating the German non-Jewish women who successfully protested their husbands' arrest (in this plaza), leading to the release of hundreds of men.  I had never heard this story before.  Many Berlin Jews married to non-Jews were saved because their spouses refused to divorce them.  The Nazis were afraid of losing some followers, so they did not break up families by removing husbands, wives, and children of mixed marriages from the area. 

Anna Frank museum, although she never lived in Germany

This was the home of the first female rabbi. Unfortunately, she was killed by the Nazis during World War II. It took 40 years before there was a second female rabbi.  This is an indication of the stunted growth of the Jewish community after the Holocaust.

Plaques in the ground indicate Jews who died in the Holocaust.  If you know to look for it, you can find them in the pavement all over Berlin.

This synagogue was built in 1866 and still considered the "new synagogue" of Berlin.  It was almost burned down time and time again.  It survived because it was used by the Nazis as a barn and storage site during WWII.