Jewish History in Berlin

The history of Jews in Berlin is a fascinating one and it is as old as the city itself. Jewish presence in the area around Berlin is traced back to the 13th Century. Their history in the early days was not significantly different from the history of Jews in many other parts of Central Europe. They were mostly quite poor, orthodox, living in self-enclosed communities and speaking Yiddish. They were subjected to many limitations and at times also pogroms. Only few became rich by becoming what was called “Court Jews”; personal bankers and advisers to the local princes. The integration of Jews into the surrounding German society is a process that started at the end of the 18th Century, with the Enlightenment period and the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment. The latter centered around the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Over a period of about 70 years – between 1780 and 1850 – they made a huge transformation. They integrated into German life, started to speak German, rather than Yiddish and became quite successful, some even extremely successful. They became present in all facets of life. On our tour we follow the Jewish history in Berlin from its early beginnings. We shall discuss the process of integration and assimilation – including its setbacks – from its beginning in the late 18th Century to its zenith in the first half of the 20th Century. We shall discuss the destruction of this community once the Nazi’s came to power, and we shall also discuss how the confrontation of this horrible past has been dealt with in Germany throughout the years and how the latter is reflected in the monuments that have been erected since. The sites included in the list on the right-hand side, represent the Classic Jewish Tour in the Old Jewish Quarter. Below, we offer some options for extensions.