Jewish Life and Culture in Germany after 1945: Sacred Spaces, Objects and Musical Traditions

Description

How was the re-emerging Jewish religious practice after 1945 shaped by traditions before the Shoah? To what extent was it influenced by new inspirations through migration and new cultural contacts? By analysing objects like prayer books, musical instruments, Torah scrolls, audio documents and prayer rooms, this volume shows how the post-war communities created new Jewish musical, architectural and artistic forms while abiding by the tradition. This peer-reviewed volume presents contributions to the conference „Jewish communities in Germany in Transition", held in July 2021, as well as the results of a related research project carried out by two university institutions and two museums: the Bet Tfila – Research Unit for Jewish Architecture (Technische Universität Braunschweig), the European Center for Jewish Music (Hanover University for Music, Drama and Media), the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, and the Jewish Museum Augsburg Swabia. For the first time, post war synagogues in Germany and their objects were researched on a broad and interdisciplinary basis – regarding history of architecture, art history of their furniture and ritual objects as well as liturgy and musicology. The project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) during the years 2018 to 2021 in its funding line „The Language of Objects". Contents Introductory Remark Part 1: Synagogues and Spaces Introduction to Part 1: Synagogues and Spaces in Post-War Germany Wall Paintings in Synagogues of Displaced Persons in Germany (1945–1950) “Next Year in Jerusalem …” – References to the Holy Land in Synagogue Architecture Impressive and Invisible. Reflections on the Urban Disposition of Synagogue Buildings in Germany Since 1990 The Dynamics of Jewish Space(s): Jewish Agency, Individual, Collective and the Creating, Maintenance or Discarding of Jewish Dominated Jewish Spaces Part 2: Ritual Objects Introduction to Part 2: Objects of Religious Practice in the Jewish Communities of Germany after 1945 Locating and Relocating: Mordechai W. Bernstein, Jewish Successor Organizations and the Musealization of Jewish Cultural Heritage Objects “In the religious field great strides have been made” – Jewish Relief Organizations and the Supply of Religious Objects to Jewish Communities in the British Zone (1945–1950) Between Rite and Musealization. Judaica in the Jewish Communities of Southern Germany after the Shoah, Using the Example of Augsburg and the Person of Julius Spokojny Part 3: Liturgy and Music Introduction to Part 3: Community, Religious Practice and Synagogue Music in Post-War Germany A Relic of the Past? The Organ and the Jewish Communities in Post-War Germany Jewish Musical Heritage in Post-War Germany: Negotiating Jewish Self-Understanding through Synagogue Chant Kaddish in Flossenbürg. On the Genesis of the Memorials to Jewish Victims of the Concentration Camp Index: Persons and Places