Education & Outreach
New Synagogue Berlin

Education & Outreach

We offer a variety of Guided tours and Workshops in our Permanent exhibition “Open Ye the Gates” as well as city walking tours. We welcome all groups: adults, preschoolers, schoolchildren, university students, and professional groups such as police officers, members of the public administration, and the armed forces.

You can also book training courses for educators, such as teachers or social workers, on subjects such as the Jewish religion, persecution under National Socialism and many other topics.

As an extracurricular learning center, our educational programs take into account the appropriate grade levels and thematic focuses of the standard school curriculum, but we are also happy to work with you to develop tailor-made offers for workshops, project days, or excursions. All programs incorporate the museum’s historical location and its historical and contemporary significance within its surrounding neighborhood.

The educational programs offered by the New Synagogue Berlin – Centrum Judaicum Foundation are made possible by the generous and kind support of the Szloma-Albam-Foundation and theRobert Bosch Foundation. Thank you very much!

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Guided tours

Tohuwabohu Under the Dome! A Journey Through the Synagogue and Jewish Berlin from 1866 to the Present Day

“Tohuwabohu” is one of the first terms in the Torah and describes the formless state of the universe before creation. Long established in German usage as “chaotic,” “Tohuwabohu” was also the title of Sammy Gronemann's successful novel about the various facets of Jewish life in Berlin at the turn of the 20th century, and is now a fitting title for our overview tour through the tumultuous history of our house. We span an arc from the first opening of the doors in 1866 and the visit of Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck to the destruction in World War II and the reconstruction around the turn of the century. Along the way, we encounter courageous police officers, prophets, and rabbis, and trace stories that are literally inscribed in the walls and objects of the New Synagogue.

Particularly suitable for: Middle school, high school, university students, adults, international groups in different languages

Duration: 60 or 90 minutes

The New Synagogue During National Socialism.

The New Synagogue and its permanent exhibition highlight the very different aspects that defined Jewish life in Berlin during National Socialism. Community activities after 1933 tell a story of self-assertion and resistance. Jewish Berliners were forced to leave their homes and emigrate; others were arrested, deported, and murdered. In October 1942, more than 500 community members were selected by the Gestapo for deportation to Theresienstadt. The building itself was saved from destruction in November 1938 by the intervention of courageous police officers, but was later used by the Nazis for their own purposes, as were the community archives housed in the building. The Ner Tamid of the former synagogue (the eternal light that symbolizes the divine presence in every synagogue) bears witness to destruction and survival in today's exhibition.

Particularly suitable for: 9th grade onwards, university students and adults, international groups in various languages.

Duration: 60 or 90 minutes

What Happens in a Synagogue? Ritual Objects, Stories, Artifacts

The New Synagogue Berlin on Oranienburger Strasse was opened in 1866 and was one of the most famous Jewish religious buildings in Germany at the time. Some of the new features of this synagogue included its organ, a choir consisting of both men and women, a bilingual prayer book with German, and, in the 1930s, the world's first female rabbi. Today, one room of the historical part of the building is used as a synagogue, and the congregation that worships there today is also innovative in how it practices many Jewish religious traditions. We explore both the synagogue currently in use and the permanent exhibition, addressing questions of tradition and modernity. We explain what a mezuzah is, what texts can be found in the Torah, how to be charitable, and whether shark fin soup is kosher. Anyone aged 5 to 120 who is curious is warmly invited to join us.

Particularly suitable for: elementary school, middle school, high school, university students, adults, international groups in various languages.

Duration: 60 or 90 minutes

Open Ye the gates – For Everyone Who Wants to Know More. A Tour for Advanced Learners

This tour is primarily aimed at those who want to spend 90 minutes delving deeper into both the historical and religious aspects of Jewish life under the golden dome on Oranienburger Strasse. The tour includes visits to the prayer room currently in use in the historic synagogue building and the permanent exhibition “Open Ye the Gates.” It focuses on the history of the building since 1866, during National Socialism, in the GDR, and after 1988, each of which also reflects the situation of the Jewish community. The New Synagogue and the neighboring College for Jewish Studies were centers of liberal Judaism at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, with composer Louis Lewandowski, rabbi and religious philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel, and historian Herbert A. Strauss all working here. We also discuss institutions of the Jewish community in the surrounding neighborhood, such as Berlin's first Jewish Museum and the Central Archives of German Jewry, and the ways in which they were confiscated and abused during the Nazi dictatorship. German memory politics, restitution, and the reemergence of Jewish life in Berlin today after the Shoah are also central topics that can be covered.

Particularly suitable for: Upper secondary school students, university students, adults, international groups in various languages

Duration: 90 minutes

Preschool Groups

If you would like to discover the Torah, kippah, and Star of David with your preschool group and visit our museum, please contact us. We offer approximately 30-minute tours of the synagogue and the exhibit rooms.

Duration: approx. 30-45 minutes

City Walking Tours

The New Synagogue is a historic site whose history is deeply connected to its neighborhood. The Spandauer Vorstadt, Scheunenviertel, and Berlin-Mitte in general were once the heart of vibrant Jewish communities. With a little curiosity, a good guide, and a trained eye, you can still discover traces of Jewish histories and biographies from different eras in our immediate surroundings today.

elementary school, middle school, high school, university students, adults, international groups in various languages.

Duration: 60, 90 or 120 minutes

Walk Through the Spandauer Vorstadt Neighborhood

Märzrevolution

Die soziale Unruhe am Vorabend der Märzrevolution von 1848 macht auch vor den preußischen Jüd:innen nicht halt. Nur ein Viertel von ihnen hatte bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt die Staatsbürgerschaft erhalten, in den meisten Universitätsfächern durften sie keine Professuren erhalten, aus den meisten Staatsämtern waren sie ausgeschlossen und obwohl sie als einfache Soldaten in der Armee kämpfen und sterben durften, blieb ihnen die Beförderung zu Offizier verwehrt.

Kein Wunder also, dass die demokratischen Ideen der Märzrevolution unter den preußischen Jüd:innen auf fruchtbaren Boden fielen: Moritz Steinschneider, einer der wichtigsten Bibliografen und Orientalisten seiner Zeit, kämpfte selbst auf den Barrikaden. Rabbiner Michael Sachs hielt zusammen mit katholischen und evangelischen Geistlichen eine Trauerrede für die Märzgefallenen auf dem Gendarmenmarkt am 22.03.1848. Der Druckergeselle Julius Brill wurde als einer der wenigen Juden und Arbeiter in die preußischen Nationalversammlung gewählt, bevor er schließlich ins Exil gehen musste.

Duration: 60 or 90 minutes.

Walk Through the Spandauer Vorstadt Neighborhood

Zusätzlich zu allen Führungsformaten oder auch einzeln kann ein Spaziergang durch die Umgebung der Neuen Synagoge gebucht werden. Die Spandauer Vorstadt war ein Zentrum jüdischen Lebens in Berlin – und heute kehren jüdische Einrichtungen und Organisationen hierher zurück. Die Rundgänge werden inhaltlich den thematischen Führungsschwerpunkten angepasst und können an der ehemaligen jüdischen Mädchenschule, dem ehemaligen Kinderheim „Ahawa“, der Synagogengemeinde „Adass Jisroel“, dem Leo-Baeck-Haus und dem alten jüdischen Friedhof an der Großen Hamburger Straße entlangführen. Gedenktafeln and Stolpersteine erzählen die Geschichten von Regina Jonas, der ersten Rabbinerin weltweit, von Cioma Schönhaus, der im Nationalsozialismus für Verfolgte Pässe fälschte und in die Schweiz flüchtete, und von Philipp Kozower, der dem Vorstand der Jüdischen Gemeinde Berlins angehörte und 1943 mit seiner Frau und drei Kindern nach Theresienstadt deportiert und später in Auschwitz ermordet wurde.

Particularly suitable for: Middle school, high school, university students, adults, international groups in different languages

Dauer: 60 oder 120 Minuten

Hammer, Compass, Star of David? Jewish Life in East Germany.

The Spandauer Vorstadt, once a lively center of Jewish life in Berlin, underwent significant changes in the postwar period and during the GDR era. This walking tour provides insights into the phases of rebuilding community life after the war, the promises and disappointments of state-sponsored anti-fascist ideology, and religious life under an anti-religious state. We visit places where the small East Berlin Jewish community gathered between 1945 and 1990, and also show which Jewish places disappeared from public perception. We learn about various Jewish personalities who played very different roles in the political and cultural life of the GDR, and explore the question of to what extent it was possible to live one’s Jewish identity in East Germany.

Duration: 120 minutes

Kreative Workshops

A House of Meeting as a Collage – Crafting a Synagogue in 3D

A synagogue, or Beit Knesset in Hebrew, means “house of meeting.” A synagogue, Beit Knesset in Hebrew, means “a house of assembly.” Using the historical and current synagogue on Oranienburger Strasse as an example, important elements such as Torah scrolls, the Aron ha-kodesh, and the bimah are explained so that participants can include them in their own designs. Comparisons with houses of prayer from other religions—especially mosques and churches—are also included. After an exploratory tour through the museum and the synagogue in use today, participants creatively reenact the process of creation by crafting 3D synagogue collages on small Styrofoam or cardboard boards.

Duration: ca. 2 – 3 hours

Aleph-Bet: Hebrew Stamp Workshop

The mystical traditions of Judaism maintain that the world was created with the help of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Participants dive into the world of Hebrew and search through our house for Hebrew letters. Afterwards, they learn the basics of the Hebrew alphabet and learn how to print their own name or other messages with Hebrew stamps on linen bags or greeting cards.

Duration: ca. 2 – 3 hours

Seminare

Die Seminare beginnen jeweils mit einem thematisch fokussierten Rundgang durch die Ausstellung und das Gebäude.
Dauer und Umfang können nach Absprache variiert und angepasst werden.

„Bunt, engagiert und gefährdet“ – Spuren der jüdischen Zivilgesellschaft und ihre Zerstörung im Nationalsozialismus im Stadtraum erkunden

Dieses fünf- bis sechsstündige Seminar bietet Schüler*innen und jungen Erwachsenen Archivmaterialien, Fotos und Videos an, mit denen sie selbst die Geschichten jüdischer Menschen und Organisationen in der Spandauer Vorstadt und Scheunenviertel in der Zwischenkriegszeit entdecken können. In diesen zwei Stadtteilen bündelten sich wie in einem Brennglas sowohl Errungenschaften, Ambivalenzen und Probleme der Weimarer Republik als auch Aktionen und Maßnahmen der Nationalsozialisten zur Übernahme des Stadtraums. Im Laufe des Seminars bearbeiten Teilnehmende Quellenmate-rialien mit Begleitung unseres Muse-umspädagogen und erfahrener Guides und entwerfen eine Laufroute für eine Spurensuche. Sie tragen sich dann ihre Forschungsergebnisse an den ehemaligen Standorten oder Wirkungsorten ihrer jeweiligen Forschungsobjekte gegenseitig vor.

Diese Erfahrung bietet Teilnehmenden einen neuen Blick auf Berlin und dient als Vorbild dafür, wie man lokalhistorischer Forschung zur jüdischen Geschichte in anderen Teilen Berlins und Deutschlands nachgehen kann.

Duration: 4 – 6 hours

Teilnehmerzahl: 30 Personen

Junges Jüdisches Leben heute

Dieses ca. dreistündige Seminar erforscht die Lebenswelten junger jüdischer Erwachsener in Deutschland heute. Video-Interviews und begleitende Texte thematisieren Vorstellungen von Heimat, Identität und Religion sowie Migrationserfahrungen.

Jewish Religion

This four-to-six-hour seminar focuses on various aspects of Jewish religion and culture as well as places of Jewish life in central Berlin. Participants learn about Shabbat, Kashrut, the Torah, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, funerary practices, as well as some of the important holidays in the Jewish calendar. This seminar includes a visit to the permanent exhibit, a contemporary synagogue used by the Jewish community, as well as a tour through the surrounding neighborhood of the New Synagogue, where many Jewish institutions were and are located. We are happy to adjust the complexity of the seminar based on your group’s needs.

Duration: 4 – 6 hours

Online-Seminartag zu jüdischer Religion und jüdischem Leben in Berlin-Mitte

Wir bieten Online-Seminartage zu verschiedenen Aspekten der jüdischen Religion und zu Orten jüdischen Lebens in Berlin-Mitte an. Die Teilnehmer*innen beschäftigen sich mit Schabbat und Kaschrut, mit Begräbnisritualen, mit Tora und Bar Mizwa, aber auch mit den jeweils nächstliegenden Feiertagen im Jahreszyklus.

Für genauere Absprachen nehmen Sie bitte Kontakt zu uns auf:

bildung@centrumjudaicum.de

Bildungsangebote zum Downlaod

Bildungsangebote Centrum Judaicum

Da all diese Angebote an die Bedürfnisse und Erwartungen der jeweiligen Gruppe angepasst werden können, nehmen Sie bitte für Absprachen und Buchungen persönlich Kontakt zu uns auf:

Besucherdienst & Führungen

Henry Lucke
info@centrumjudaicum.de
030 / 880 28 307