Berlin's New Synagogue

On Thursday, October 15th, our class took a tour of what might be called the Jewish quarter of Berlin, where much of Berlin’s Jewish population was concentrated before the Holocaust. We visited several sites of importance to Berlin’s Jewish heritage, as well as the resistance to Nazi deportation of Jews. One such site was Otto Weidt’s old brush factory where blind and def Jews were employed and protected from deportation during WWII. Otto Weidt’s story is much like that of the famous Spielberg film, Schindler’s List. Because his trade in the brush industry was labeled as necessary for the war effort, Weidt was able, through bribery and conspiracy, to obtain documents allowing many Jews in his employ to avoid deportation to concentration camps. We took a short tour of the small factory, now set up as an exhibition paying tribute to Weidt’s noble deeds. We were also able to meet with the director of the exhibition, who revealed its origins as a school project! Next, we made our way to the New Synagogue on Oranienburgstrasse. Constructed in the early 1860s, this Synagogue became the Jewish community’s center in Berlin, until it was almost completely destroyed by bombs during WWII. The synagogue has now been partially restored, and remains a cultural center for the Jewish community, its role however, has expanded, as the synagogue has opened its doors to the public, as a museum of the synagogue’s history, and that of the Berlin’s Jewish community. A large part of the synagogue has not been restored however, though the Jewish community has been offered the funds to rebuild, it has deferred this decision to future generations, claiming that the Jewish population in Berlin has not yet recovered to the point that it could fill the fully restored building. Thus, the partially restored synagogue remains a symbol of an only partially restored Jewish community in Berlin.