For 25 years they have wanted to make Jewish life in Nuremberg visible: The Forum for Jewish History and Culture. Jewish activist Lena Prytula spoke at the ceremony in Nuremberg City Hall. She reported on her everyday life and the ongoing hatred of Jews, which has increased significantly in Germany since the Hamas terror attack on Israel almost a year ago.
“I am worried about my future here in this country. It is not clear to me at this point how long I can live here and how long I want to live here.” Lena Prytula, Jewish activist from Nuremberg
The prospective teacher describes how she and other Jewish fellow students have no longer felt safe at the university in recent months. As a teacher at a high school, she also feels alone in the classroom and teachers’ room. On feedback notes for lessons, she finds hashtags with Free Palestine – Freedom for Palestine. Even a Hitler salute was of little interest. “The school administration just says: Yes, there’s nothing we can do, they’re just teenagers,” says Prytula.
“Education helps against anti-Semitism”
On the podium, the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, stressed that he was very concerned about the rise of Islamist and right-wing extremist forces – especially the AfD in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. “The key to combating anti-Semitism on every side is education, education and more education. And that is precisely why the Forum for Jewish History and Culture is so important,” said Schuster.
Nuremberg association advocates dialogue
The association wants to be a platform for encounters and dialogue between Jews and non-Jews, says chairman Gabriel Grabowski. The forum regularly offers get-togethers, lectures, exhibitions and celebrations. In order to reach young people, the members have Project Mekomot (External link) launched on the net.
Digital city map makes Jewish life visible
With just a few clicks the digital city map (External link) for example, where Jewish people lived in Nuremberg before 1933 or which companies were founded by Jews. The city map is constantly being expanded, says historian Alexander Schmidt, who initiated the project. In the future, he can also imagine city tours and projects with school classes working on the digital map. Building bridges, starting conversations – the association has big plans for the future too.
