Pilot Project “Jewish Life in Potsdam”

Outreach, Regional and Local History (Jewish Brandenburg)

Researcher: Julia Kleinschmidt, Ingolf Seidel

The Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies is developing a pilot project on “Jewish Life in Potsdam” in cooperation with a Potsdam high school. In a six- to eight-hour project day, the students will learn about Jewish culture and religion as well as their Jewish environment. The local and regional history of Jewish life in Potsdam and Brandenburg will be explored through various sites and topics. The goal is to introduce the students to Jewish topics, which will be deepened and specialized in the coming years. At the same time, the media competence of the students will be promoted. Jewish history is not to be conveyed through the prism of National Socialist persecution, but rather as a German-Jewish history that spans centuries.

The content topics are tested in the classroom together with the high school and adapted to the needs of the students.  The educational program developed as part of the pilot project will furtheron be applicable to other Brandenburg schools.