Applications for Summer 2011 Now Available!

The dates for the Summer 2011 HUC Germany Close Up class/trip have been set: make sure to save May 24-June 3, 2011 on your calendars. Dates for the pre-trip preparation to be arranged in the spring. All currently enrolled HUC-JIR students are eligible (that includes the soon-to-be-ordained and -graduated). Applications are available here.

Cities and Those Other Places We'll Be Visiting

Should you be too busy to scroll down the page and click on any of the links to the right, here's the message for you:
Our hotel in Berlin.
The Jewish community in Berlin. And the official Berlin Gemeinde.
The egal minyan where we'll be on Friday night. And other synagogues in Berlin.
Scheunenviertel.
Sachsenhausen.
The Jewish Museum Berlin.
Reichstag and Bundestag (German Parliament).
Speyer.
Heidelberg (including the Hochschule fuer Juedische Studien).
Worms.
Weimar.
Abraham Geiger College.
A guide to Berlin!

You may also want to read up on these places through the various Wikipedia pages...it's always nice to know what you're seeing.

View HUC Germany Close Up in a larger map

Memory Construction

How conceptual is too conceptual? What does a monument and/or a memorial need in order both to have value and to produce the memory being represented? What problems do monuments encounter when put into dialogue with (or made to dissent from) politics, perception and bureaucracy?

On the trope of "the German Jew"

Left over from today's discussion--what is y/our investment in the role and meaning of German Jews (both historical and contemporary) in the narrative of the Holocaust and post-Holocaust? What is it that you/we "want" from them and how much is that desire a projection (or construction) of Americanism? Even more specifically, what do you think it is that diaspora Judaism expects from German Judaism?

bigger and better

Just in time for today's discussion, it turns out that the Jewish Museum in Berlin is expanding!

and, just down the street...

Art goes public in Berlin! (It's a very cool exhibition space.)

on how to get to the hotel...

Make sure to print these directions out, on the very off chance that you won't remember it after your flight...

When you land at Tegel, you want to take Bus #128; you can find the stop next to Gate #15 in Terminal A. You can buy a ticket from the bus driver ("Einzelfahrt"/One way--A/B ticket) or from the machine at the bus stop (if you buy it from the machine, you will need to validate the ticket--the validating machine is on-the-bus itself; look for a red box with a slot in it). Take the bus to the U-Bahn (subway) station called "Kurt Schuhmacher Platz." You'll get off the bus and go downstairs to get on the U-6 toward "Alt-Mariendorf." (The directions are -very- clearly marked, plus the trains themselves are labeled with the direction in which they travel.)

You have two options--one requires a 5-10 minutes walking, the other requires a change at a busy train station.

Option ONE: You'll go NINE stations to "Oranienburger Tor." Get off the train and go out of the station. You'll walk north on Friedrichstrasse to Oranienburgerstrasse (look at the map). Turn right on Oranienburgerstrasse, walking on the north side of the street. Take the second left on to Auguststrasse--the hotel--Augustinenhof--is at number 82 Auguststrasse.

Option TWO: You'll go TEN stations to "Friedrichstrasse." Get off the train and look for "S-Bahn" signs (Green, with the letter "S"). You'll transfer to S1 (toward "Oranienburg") or S2 (toward Bernau) and go ONE station to "Oranienburgerstrasse." Get out of the station--orient yourself toward the New Synagogue (clearly identified by the large gold top). Walk north on Tucholskystrasse (the New Synagogue will be to your right, down the street). Take the first left on to Auguststrasse. The hotel--Augustinenhof--is at Auguststraße 82.

Actually, he's MOST famous for the Jewish Museum in Berlin

A (very brief) interview with Daniel Libeskind, who designed the reconstruction of the World Trade Center (among other, really cool, really interesting projects).

One more (at least for today)

Ponder this: how would you have reconstructed Germany after the war?

And, in the week forward...

In LA's American Judaism class, we spoke quite a bit about the idea of the sanctity of the Holocaust, who "owns" it as an experience to be referenced and made representative, and the way in which the Holocaust has become a near-universal referent for other persecutions, oppressions and experiences of murder on a massive scale. The use of the Holocaust as an important metaphor to indicate the depth, breadth and extent of genocide and killing campaigns has become familiar. If we press the question of universal and particular experience (and the way that Judaism can be both) onto the Jewish experience in WWII, we beg a whole set of questions. Chief among them (or, high on the list) is how we use German Jews as representative of the Holocaust when their experience in it was so unique. How does re-telling the history of the Holocaust through the experience of Jews living in Nazi Germany change your perceptions and understanding of the event as a whole?

On Weimar

The Weimar Republic years seem to serve a very similar purpose in the creation of a German-Jewish mythos as did Moses Mendelssohn. What do you think it is that make people pine for this period of German Jewish history? What do *you* find the most interesting?

For the record, I've got a thing for Bauhaus.

Picking sides

On which side of the fence do you currently fall: Team Inevitability or Team Capriciousness? For the sake of discussion, do this little exercise. Pick an event or moment that you think best represents your position, then argue against it, that is, take the other side of the debate and make--genuinely, not passively--a brief case for why your example provides evidence of your "new" position.

and on a related note...

As you read through the material, one aspect of Jewish communal life becomes clear: there are a LOT of Jewish communal organizations. Do you think the proliferation of different interests groups is a sign of German-Jewish integration, security and acceptance or is it a sign of anxiety about fitting in?

Questioning the Jewish Question

What do you think: is the Jewish Question laid to rest after the unification of Germany under Bismarck (and the total emancipation of all German Jews)? In other words, how much is the "Jewish Question" of the 1930s a totally *other* question and how much is it a continuation of the German-Jewish experience of the "long" 19th century?

on the re-forming of Judaism

As you catch up on the readings, several posts will offer some questions for discussion and reflection. The first: what do you think about the early expressions of liberal Judaism? How do the innovations of the Enlightenment and Romantic German cultural and intellectual influences resonate with your understanding of early American Reform and with contemporary Reform Judaism?

(As a side note, here's the Liberal Jewish Community in Hamburg now.)

Art for art's sake

While we're there:
Frida Kahlo Retrospective at the Martin Gropius Bau along with an exhibit of the incredible work of Olaf Eliasson, the new Topography of Terror exhibit is open (scary name very cool outdoor exhibit), there's a complex exhibit on the May Day riots (May 1st has a long, complex history as a worker's holiday) and there's a very good chance that the Eichmann files will be made available to the public while we're there.

Financial in/stability

How much do you know about what's going on in Greece and its financial instability? Since the EU adopted the Euro as its common currency, there have been all kinds of really interesting turns and twists and none--perhaps--more so than the way in which Greece's massive debt has affected the more fiscally responsible countries who are now responsible for finding a fix. It's bound to be a MAJOR topic while we're in Germany both because of how important a role the German market plays in Europe but also because it seems to play into the historical relationship between Germany and Greece (especially in the 20th century). Carve out a little time to familiarize yourselves with it...

only without the bonfire

See this article about the first Lag B'Omer parade in Berlin!

on Berlin

There's quite a bit to disagree with in this piece on Berlin from Tablet, but it's a worthwhile backdrop against which to have your own experience of the city. Berlin is--above other characteristics--a city of contradictions as this piece from The Forward brings out.

Carnival of Cultures

Prepare yourselves: the Carnival of Cultures will be in Berlin while we're there. Sure to be wild (though not quite as much as the Love Parade might have been).

back at the ranch....

Here's a very quick, up-to-date way to familiarize yourself with current German politics.

Aesthetic Smackdown: the Perfect v. the Sublime

Which appeals to you more: the rationalist, pragmatic approach to universal morality of the late 18th century (think the various Mendelssohns even when they change their names to Bartholdy) or the deeply felt emotional romanticism of the early 1th century? How does Jewish involvement with both (and here, "Jewish" can mean Jews or Judaism or Jews and Judaism) create ambivalence for German thinkers of all creeds? Feel free to approach this question from multiple angles--Jews as a part of German culture, Jews as separate from an emerging sense of Germanism, a mutually construction majority culture, etc. From any direction, it begs some reflection on what is at stake for non-Jewish and Jewish Germans regarding integration and Emancipation.

tea and coffee in the afternoon

The salon movement of the early Romantic period is both heralded (for its boundary-crossing, anti-hierarchy, seemingly liberal mode of creating inter-religious, inter-class, and inter-gender spaces) and reviled (for basically the same reasons). How is the salon both de-valued and over-valued because of its association both with women and with Jews? Do you see (or can you make) references (or echoes) of it in either the rise of Liberal Judaism and in (our) contemporary society?

"the Jew is even more man than Jew...."

In his 1781 treatise "On the Civil Improvement of the Jews" von Dohm adjures the Prussian government both to know the religion of Judaism and to create conditions that help weaken Jewish specificity in favor of promoting a more general (that is, universally available) morality. In suggesting--strongly--that his audience not judge the whole of Jews through the actions of a few, Dohm not only elevates the role/value/significance of the individual but also he signals a reorganization of the ways in which non-Jews and Jews should perceive one another. Instead of knowing one another as communities, Prussians of all creeds show know one another as human beings. Sounds great, right? But the drawbacks are plentiful. What kind of negative repercussions does Dohm's piece invoke (however unwittingly)?

Berlin dining

For those of you not in NY (or those in the city not reading The NY Times) Sunday's paper had a big section on European travel. No promises on whether we'll be eating at any of these places, but it's nice to dream, isn't it? Berlin: High and Low Dining.

Money, money, money

It's not all bad news--look how much further your (student) dollars can go! (It's good we're leaving soon.)

Is the Cupcake American?

This reminds me of the irony of the European Starbucks franchise: who's importing whose idea of what?

"In Germany, a Taste of New York, via McDonald’s" (from _The New York Times_, April 11, 2010).

On the power of telling a story in a particular way...

One more thought on this beginning: why the hard sell on the rough conditions of German Judaism and Jews before Mendelssohn's arrival in Berlin? Think about the dichotomies Elon sets up pre- and post-Mendelssohn: intolerance vs. tolerance, introverted Judaism vs. extroverted Jews, poor & spiritually malnourishment vs. secularity, Prussian barbarism vs. German universalism, court Jews vs. free market democratic capitalists, halakhic insularity vs. Deistic cosmopolitanism. What kind/s of Jews does Elon seem to most value in such binaries? (One can decipher an answer by way of the traits and characteristics he praises or demeans.) In other words, what's up with the spin? (And, here's the kicker--how much does his content play into your own assumptions about German Jewish history?)

On my man, Mo

Elon begins with Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786), whom he describes as barefoot, terribly impoverished, frail, sickly and hunchbacked yet with a mind that powers his long walk from Dessau to Berlin (about 83 miles) and with a beautiful face. By beginning this way, what bias or prejudice or scene does Elon present to the reader about German Jewish life, culture, history and engagement? What is gained by such a portrayal of Mendelssohn as both the representative of -all- German Jewry and an anomalous exemplar of exceptionalism? Again, to the comments....

On Elon's _The Pity_

Reading the beginning of Amos Elon's _The Pity of It All_ begs several questions the most pressing of which might be related to his title. Just what can you determine (or decipher, your call) about his understanding and perception of German-Jewish history from what he has chosen to call his book? Add your reflections and considerations in the comments.

Mapping the past

Confused about Elon's referencing of different German speaking provinces? Until its final national unification in 1871 (under the military and political leadership of Otto von Bismarck and Wilhelm of Prussia) the country we know as Germany was operated as separate provinces with different political, social and economic agendas. Language and dialect variations (along with different local foods, beers, sausages, pastries, cultural ancestries, etc.) as well as different religious alliances helped maintain invisible borders between provinces (and their populations) as well as fostered serious rivalries. A map of the contemporary Germany may help you visualize the different places referenced in our reading. Mendelssohn was born in Dessau (in Sachsen-Anhalt) and walked to Berlin (through Brandenburg to the city-state of Berlin, collectively known as Prussia). Heine was born in Duesseldorf which is in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Worms and Speyer are located in the south part of Rheinland-Pfalz. As Napolean marched across Europe, he brought French Revolutionary reforms from west to east so that Heine's part of Germany felt his impact well before Prussia did.

We're back in business and ready to prep for Germany Close Up 2010! Check here for supplemental information and resources as well ass discussion questions and links to news/updates about Germany and the program. It's going to be a GREAT class & trip!

Calling Home From Abroad

For later, after we're all there...this very helpful article from the NY Times (Jan. 6, 2010).

At long last...the dates!

Trip to Germany will be May 20th to May 30th, 2010. Class prep will begin in March. Details to follow....

Coming Soon

HUC/Germany Close Up 2010!