Who shaped Berlin · Part 5
Jewish Berlin: history, places of remembrance and Jewish life today
There has been a Jewish community in Berlin for more than 350 years, with a golden age, with persecution and murder, and with a new beginning after 1945. Here are the places where you can learn this history and remember those who were murdered, and what to know for a respectful visit.
1671 is considered the founding year of today's Jewish Community of Berlin
18 October 1941 first deportation train from Grunewald station
More than 50,000 Jewish Berliners were murdered
Free entry Jewish Museum (permanent exhibition), Information Centre, Track 17
More than 350 years of history
Jewish life in Berlin is much older than today's community, but it was interrupted by expulsions in the Middle Ages and again in 1573. On 21 May 1671 Elector Frederick William allowed 50 wealthy Jewish families who had been expelled from Vienna to settle in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The first letter of protection for two families in Berlin is dated 10 September 1671, and that day is considered the community's founding date. The admission was driven mainly by economic interests, and the families lived under strict conditions for a long time. Even so, Berlin became a centre of Jewish life in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries: the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn came to the city in 1743, and the New Synagogue was consecrated in 1866.
With the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, exclusion, disenfranchisement and persecution began. On the night of the November pogrom in 1938, synagogues burned in Berlin and Jewish shops were destroyed. From 18 October 1941 Jewish Berliners were deported, and more than 50,000 of them were murdered. After 1945 survivors and newcomers rebuilt community life, and today Berlin once again has synagogues, schools, cultural institutions and a diverse Jewish present.
Places of history and remembrance
01 New Synagogue and Centrum Judaicum · Mitte
about 2 minutes on foot from Oranienburger Straße S-Bahn station
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
The New Synagogue on Oranienburger Straße was consecrated for the Jewish New Year in 1866 and was then the largest Jewish place of worship in Germany. It was badly damaged in the Second World War; today the rebuilt front section with its golden dome stands, and the Centrum Judaicum inside shows an exhibition on the history of the building and the community. According to the museum, in the winter season it is open Monday to Thursday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, Friday until 3 pm, and closed on Saturdays. Prices are on the website, and guided tours are free.
02 Jewish Museum Berlin · Kreuzberg
about 9 minutes on foot from Kochstraße U-Bahn station
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
Daniel Libeskind's building on Lindenstraße is itself part of the story, with slanting walls, voids and axes that make exile and annihilation tangible. The permanent exhibition tells the history of Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to today. According to the Berlin museum portal it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm; the permanent exhibition is free, and special exhibitions cost 10 euros, 4 euros reduced. There is a security check at the entrance, and at weekends it is worth booking a time slot online. The museum is closed on Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
03 Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe · Mitte
about 6 minutes on foot from Brandenburger Tor station to the Information Centre
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
Between the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz, 2,711 concrete stelae stand on an undulating field; the memorial was dedicated in 2005. The field of stelae is open around the clock. Beneath it lies the Information Centre with the names and life stories of those murdered, open according to the foundation Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, last entry 5:15 pm, and entry is free. There may be short waits at the security check.
04 Track 17 memorial at Grunewald station · Grunewald
about 4 minutes on foot from Grunewald S-Bahn station
On 18 October 1941 the first deportation train left Grunewald station for Litzmannstadt (Łódź) with more than 1,000 Jewish Berliners; many more followed, later also from Anhalter Bahnhof and Moabit freight station. Since 1998 Deutsche Bahn has commemorated this with the Track 17 memorial: along the platform, cast steel plates give the date, the number of people and the destination of each transport. No trains run on the track any more, and the site is freely accessible.
05 Weißensee Jewish Cemetery · Weißensee
about 11 minutes on foot from the Albertinenstraße tram stop
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
The cemetery on Herbert-Baum-Straße opened in 1880 and, with almost 116,000 graves, is considered the largest surviving Jewish cemetery in Europe by area. Between tall trees and ivy-covered graves lie family plots from the imperial era, graves of soldiers who fell in the First World War and memorial stones for those murdered. According to the Jewish Community, in the winter season it is open Monday to Thursday from 7:30 am to 4 pm, Friday until 2:30 pm and Sunday from 8 am to 4 pm; it is closed on the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays.
Good to know
- At memorials: keep your voice down, do not climb on the stelae or jump between them, do not sit on the memorial plates at Track 17. Photos are fine, but without posing and without people on graves.
- In Jewish cemeteries: men cover their heads, a cap is enough. Instead of flowers, many visitors place a small stone on the grave.
- Security: police stand outside synagogues and Jewish institutions in Berlin, and there are checks at the entrance. That is normal, so allow a few minutes and leave large bags at home.
- Stolpersteine: all over the city, small brass plates in the pavement outside their last addresses commemorate people who were persecuted and murdered. Stopping to read a name is a way of remembering them.