|
|
Dec. 15, 2006
Berlin, for the Jewish traveller
Highlights include the Jewish museum, restored synagogues and
kosher sushi restaurants.
DAVE GORDON
It might sound strange and even paradoxical, but Germany today
has one of the fastest growing Jewish populations in Europe.
The Jewish community had an influx of immigrants when the Berlin
Wall fell in 1989 and, now, with about 20,000 members, Berlin is
Germany's largest Jewish community.
Besides the ruins of the Nazi and communist regimes, of which there
are unfortunately many, there are also sites for the tourist looking
to explore the rich history of Jews in Germany, whether you go on
self-guided tours or use tour companies.
Several good walking tours are available for the Jewish traveller.
Zoo Station – an accessible subway stop with an actual zoo
next to it – is within walking distance of most major sites,
where you'll find tour guide signs offering a number of excursions.
For about $21 US, you can hire a private guide to take you around
for about four hours to see "Jewish Berlin" – the
monuments, graveyards, landmarks and remaining shuls that are scattered
around the city. My tour guide, oddly enough, was from the Toronto
area, spoke fluent English and, although not Jewish, he confessed
to having spent many years studying Judaism. He knew, for instance,
to place stones on tombstones.
There are also self-guided tours with maps available at Zoo Station.
The subway is extremely user-friendly, taking you nearly everywhere
a tourist might want to go. Most Germans speak enough English to
communicate with foreigners and, with a small phrase book, you can
navigate the city comfortably.
A must-see is the Jewish Museum. Famed American architect Daniel
Libeskind designed this silvery, steel-clad building, with its windowless
exterior that is shaped like a broken Star of David. Inside, in
addition to the exhibition rooms, there is the windowless Holocaust
Tower.
The main exhibition, which opened in September 2001, recounts the
history and life of German Jews over two millennia. This permanent
gallery covers 9,000 square feet and is organized chronologically,
starting with the first arrival of a significant Jewish population
2,000 years ago and ending in the present day. Artifacts include
a 14th-century Torah on loan from the Vatican library.
A guided tour, which presents an overview of the exhibits in the
museum, takes place daily at 7 p.m. For families with young children,
the museum has several soft-carpeted play spaces and colored tunnels.
Allow four to five hours for a full tour.
The New Synagogue, at Oranienburger Strasse 30, was built in 1866,
the largest shul in Germany. The synagogue was miraculously saved
from major damage in the November 1938 Kristallnacht, but was partially
destroyed by bombs in 1943. In the mid-1950s, the small East German
Jewish community could not sustain the cost of upkeep and were unable
to worship there because of strict communist rules, so they decided
to tear parts of it down.
But, starting in 1988, much of the synagogue was restored, including
its shining golden dome and beautiful winding staircase.
A permanent exhibition called Open the Gates – The New Synagogue
1866-1995 presents the history of the building and Jewish life in
Berlin. The shul also holds a small museum. Allow three hours for
a full tour and expect heavy security searches.
Continuing with the synagogue tour, the shul at Rykestrasse 53 is
the only one that escaped the terror of the Shoah. Built in 1904,
it was desecrated by the Nazis in 1940 but not destroyed, and it
was restored in 1953. For almost half a century, it was the only
shul for the small East Berlin Jewish community. Today, it is an
Orthodox synagogue, with regular services.
Brandenburg Gate is probably the best-known landmark in Berlin.
The gate was incorporated into the Berlin Wall during the years
of communist rule. The main architectural feature of this landmark
– its huge arches – has not changed since it was first
constructed in 1791. It was here that, in 1987, former United States
president Ronald Reagan said to the president of the old Soviet
Union, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
On the way to the gate, get your guide to bring you to Opernplatz,
where the infamous Nazi book-burnings took place in 1933. The underground
monument, seen through an aboveground glass floor, poignantly shows
a lit room with dozens of empty bookcases. Right near Brandenburg
Gate, there's also a new Holocaust museum, which opened last year.
Tacheles, a decaying building, got its name from the Yiddish expression
"to talk tachles" ("to get down to business"),
a lot like today's "let's talk turkey." In the old days,
Jewish merchants used to haggle over commodities here. Today, it
houses artisanal galleries and makes a nice quick stop if you have
spare time on your trip. I spotted glassmakers, burly men blowtorching
steel and lonesome painters casually dotting canvasses. Before the
war, it was the Jewish-owned Weltheim Department Store. Though not
visually attractive, the dilapidated buildings with gutted windows
and a crumbling façade are home to some avant-garde sculptors.
The visitor can see works-in-progress and sometimes chat a little
bit with the busy artists.
Jewish food and entertainment are also plentiful in Berlin. Theatres
often feature shows with Jewish content and Israeli troupes and
orchestras regularly tour in the city. Klezmer is making a big comback
in the city with Jews and gentiles alike. Finally, you can get your
Jewish food fill at the city's many kosher and kosher-style restaurants:
Café Silberstein (an unlikely name for a kosher sushi restaurant),
Tapuz, Rimon, Café Oren, Beth Café and others.
Dave Gordon is a Canadian freelance writer living in Brooklyn,
N.Y.
^TOP
|
|
