Classrooms Without Borders has just completed our first seminar to Berlin in partnership with Germany Close-up. Twenty-five young Jewish professionals under age 35 from across the U.S. and Canada participated in the 10-day study program in Berlin, learning how Germany is grappling with its past, the continuity of Jewish life in Germany today, and U.S.-German and Jewish-German relations in the present and future.
This first trip was a great success. In addition to visiting the key commemorative sites in Berlin that deal with Germany’s role in the Shoah, participants had an opportunity to meet with a wide range of German citizens and leaders. In a panel discussion at the Jewish Community Center in Berlin, the group heard about the renewal of Jewish life in Germany from an orthodox rabbi, a doctor of sociology and one of the main organizers of Limmud Germany, the annual festival of Jewish learning. A Kabbalat Shabbat egalitarian service was held in the New Synagogue, followed by a dinner with members of the Jewish community. Seminar participants heard presentations by two members of the German Parliament as well as a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Outside of Berlin, the trip included a tour of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and a variety of German cities: Potsdam, Worms, Heidelberg and Speyer. There, the group had an opportunity to delve into the history of the Jewish presence in Germany in the Middle Ages, including a tour of Rashi’s synagogue in Worms and a descent into two complete 900-year-old ritual baths, or mikvaot.
The participants took every opportunity to interact with modern-day Germany with an openness that was inspiring. Many expressed amazement at the degree to which Germany has acknowledged its responsibility for the role it played in initiating and executing the so-called Final Solution.
“I approached this visit as one of artistic inquiry, specifically pertaining to Berlin’s approach to memorializing a vast, overwhelming epoch. How does one turn something intangible into concrete and meaningful art without undermining the significance of the subject? I took away an unforgettable lesson in German humanity: culture, hospitality, struggle and triumph. I also know myself better as a Jew.
— Sarah Rubin, Shadyside Academy
“I thought the Germany Up Close trip was an extraordinary experience. It has helped me to understand why the Holocaust occurred and how much work we all still need to do to prevent genocide.”
— Joshua Frank
Next Study Seminar: Aug. 2014, Final Date TBD