Between anti-fascism, socialist utopia and religious life: What did it mean to be Jewish in the GDR?
After the Shoah, many Jews made the conscious choice to live in East Germany, to be part of building a new, more equitable socialist society, hoping for greater justice and to overcome antisemitic structures.
With personal stories and articles by scholars from different fields of studies this book accompanies the exhibition Another Country. Jewish in the GDR. It provides a close look at how Jewish life was newly constituted in small communities, how the social upheavals affected the self-image of Jews in the GDR, and at what became of their ideals.
Details
- Another Country. Jewish in the GDR
272 pages including images of nearly all exhibited works and objects
Folded pamphlet, 21,5 x 16 cm
Ch. Links Verlag within Aufbau Verlage GmbH & Co. KG
Berlin 2023
ISBN: 3-96289-208-1
English (also available in German) - Editors Tamar Lewinsky, Martina Lüdicke and Theresia Ziehe, Jewish Museum Berlin
- With contributions by Sandra Anusiewicz-Baer, Inka Bertz, Michael Brenner, Lara Dämmig, Sonia Combe, Cathy S. Gelbin, Olaf Glöckner, Philipp Graf, Steffen Heidrich, Wolfgang Herzberg, Stefan Heym, Barbara Honigmann, Leon Kahane, Mario Keßler, Annette Leo, Tamar Lewinsky, Martina Lüdicke, Jalda Rebling, Miriam Rürup, Lisa Schoß, Hermann Simon, Ofer Waldman, Alexander Walther, Theresia Ziehe
- Translations Adam Blauhut, Allison Brown, Jake Schneider, Rachel Stanyon, Sabrina Stolfa, Kate Sturge
- Design Team Mao, Berlin
- Price 28 €
You can order this publication from a bookstore, or from the museum by contacting

Exhibition Another Country. Jewish in the GDR: Features & Programs
- Exhibition Webpage
- Another Country. Jewish in the GDR: 8 Sep 2023 to 14 Jan 2024
- Accompanying Events
- Events in the exhibition: GDR on Tuesday: Event with fixed dates, in German
- Concert: Martin Schreier & Stern-Combo Meißen: An Ost-Rock legend at the JMB, 21 Sep 2023
- ...And Facing the Future? – Jewish History and Stories in the GDR: A scholarly conference accompanying the exhibition, 18–20 Oct 2023, in German
- Guided Tours
- Guided Tour in English: Tour with fixed dates (thursdays)
- Guided Tour in German: Tour with fixed dates (saturdays)
- Brunch with Guided Tour: Tour with fixed dates (sundays)
- Guided Tour for Groups: Tour by appointment, in several languages
- Historic Urban Walk for Groups: Jewish in the GDR: Tour by appointment, in several languages
- Digital Content
- Voices from the GDR: Twelve short film interviews with Jewish perspectives on life and the political system, 2023, in German with English subtitles
- Singled Out and Viewed Suspiciously: Jews in the GDR: Abridged version of Annette Leo’s contribution to the exhibition catalog, 2023
- Jewish in the GDR. A Road Trip with Marion and Lena Brasch: A podcast by Deutschlandfunk Kultur in cooperation with the Jewish Museum Berlin, six episodes, 2023, in German
- Jewish Local History of the GDR: Information about the communities in Dresden, Erfurt, Halle, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Chemnitz and Schwerin on Jewish Places
- Publications
- Current page: Another Country. Jewish in the GDR: Catalog accompanying the exhibition, English edition, 2023
- Ein anderes Land. Jüdisch in der DDR: Catalog accompanying the exhibition, German edition, 2023
- See also
- East Germany