The Jewish Museum Berlin has set ambitious goals for the coming years. 2020 will see the opening of the new permanent exhibition and, across the street from the museum, the children’s world ANOHA. Building on the program reorientation associated with these major projects, the Jewish Museum Berlin also plans to set new standards for its future educational work. The outreach program is a special focus and we will continue to develop it in step with the many improvements. We will continue to reach out to young people who cannot come to the museum easily themselves – a goal that the Jewish Museum Berlin has been pursuing since 2007 through the on.tour outreach program.
The mobile exhibition on.tour – the Jewish Museum Berlin Visits Schools has so far reached nearly 75,000 students in 587 secondary schools throughout Germany. The valuable experience gained from ten years of on.tour forms the foundation for the Museum’s new outreach programs. Based on the new exhibitions and supported by digital and interactive methods, we are rethinking our educational work.
10 years on.tour: The Jewish Museum Berlin Tours Schools; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
Programs for Young People Ages 13 and Older
In 2019 and 2020, the new outreach program is launched with workshops relating to the new website Jewish Places. The first interactive map of Jewish life in Germany consists of over 7000 data on Jewish local history and carries on growing with the support of its users. Jewish Places brings Jewish history and present in our surroundings to life through secular and religious places and Jewish biographies.
Jewish Places home page. To see the interactive website for yourself, visit www.jewish-places.de (in German).
From early summer 2020 to mid 2021, we will be working with school students from secondary schools from 8th grade as part of five tours:
As part of a five-day workshop, the approximately 20 young participants explore
historical places of Jewish life in their environment with educational support from three experienced museum team members. Equipped with mobile devices, they take photos and videos, conduct independent research in archives and libraries, and talk to members of the local Jewish community. They summarize the information and insights they gather in brief texts and upload these as user-generated content to the Jewish Places website, thus making them accessible to a broad public. At the end of the week, they present the places and stories they have discovered to their fellow students, teachers, and interested guests from the area and community.
We are currently putting the tour together and preparing workshops for five schools in Berlin and the new federal states. Our luggage brimming with tools and ideas, we will be on the road from early summer 2020 in our newly designed tour bus.
If you are interested in a tour, please contact us at ontour@jmberlin.de or +49 (0)30 25993-547.
Jewish Places in Germany
Impressions from the project week on.tour goes Jewish Places, 2018–2019
For one week, we took our on.tour bus to visit young people in schools, researching Jewish history in their area together with them, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
Students meet members of the Jewish community; here they are with Rabbi Prof. Andreas Nachama at the site of the former Sukkat Schalom Synagogue in Berlin-Steglitz, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
For the project week on.tour goes Jewish Places, three experienced team members bring touchable objects to the schools, along with tablets, and many other materials. On the first workshop day, they teach the students about the basics of Judaism and encourage the young people to pursue their own questions, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
A group of young people is led around the Liebermann Villa by an expert; the collage shows the marker that was set later and the entry in Jewish Places, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
What is my Potsdam like? Which Jewish places do I know?–The project week changed the young people's perspective on their own environment, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
Whether inside or outside: equipped with mobile tablets, the young people create photos and videos of the places they visit; here they are at the Jewish Cemetery in Potsdam, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
Have you ever been inside of an archive? During independent research, young people explore archives, museums, and other institutions; here they are in the Brandenburg Main State Archive, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
The students prepare texts about Jewish places, based on the information they've gathered and their newfound insights; here they are in the library of the Steglitz Museum, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
Once the descriptive texts, photos, and videos are finished, the young people enter them into the Jewish Places database. In this way, they also learn media skills and how to work with a participatory website, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
At the end of the project week, the students present their Jewish Places entries and report on their experiences. For their final presentation, students and teachers from other classes came, along with family, friends, and interested guests; here they are at the Hannah Arendt Secondary School in Potsdam, Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Alexi Papadopoulos
Small groups investigate the materials from Jewish life, then present their findings to the other groups. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Sarah Hiron
Analog meets digital. At the Oldenburg Municipal Archive, students consult historical documents for information about their chosen "Jewish Place." Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Sarah Hiron
Three students use their free time during the workshop to work on their texts at the memorial in Oldenburg. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Sarah Hiron
For its research, one group visits Rabbi Alina Treiger at the Oldenburg Synagogue – a poignant experience for everyone involved. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: David Studniberg
In central Oldenburg, students research information about the Jewish establishment of their choice. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Sarah Hiron
Time to go digital. A high school student records the information he collected in Jewish Places. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Sarah Hiron
"We learned something for life!" One by one, the small groups present their entries on Jewish Places and share their experiences from the workshop with the other students. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Sarah Hiron
This section of the map shows the results compiled by the students from Oldenburg. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Anika Nowak-Wetterau
Using our evaluation forms, the students help us improve future workshops. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Sarah Hiron
All the students and the entire Jewish Places team visibly enjoyed themselves during the workshop. Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Arnon Hampe
Online Platform Jewish Places
On the Topography of Jewish Life in Germany
Project
Since 2018
Jewish Places goes live today!
Blog post about the launch of Jewish Places
Blog
on.tour: The Jewish Museum Berlin Toured Schools
All About ...
2007–2018
ANOHA
The Children's World of the Jewish Museum Berlin
All About ...
Jewish Life in Germany: Past and Present
Our new core exhibition is opening soon!
Exhibition
TBA