Germany of All Places!

Jewish communities in Germany have grown at an incredible rate thanks to European unification and a steady stream of Russian Jewish immigrants to Germany. Today Germany's Jewish communities are nearly five times larger than they were in 1990. Most of these new citizens speak Russian. However, an immigration act passed in 2005 put an end - for the time being - to the largest wave of Jewish immigration to Germany in its history.
This exhibition presented the reality of daily life for Jewish Russian immigrants, their cultural, social and religious backgrounds, their experiences in temporary housing and integration communities, and their opinions of Germany as a country of immigration. The primary focus of the exhibition were the experiences and perspectives of Russian Jewish immigrants. It addressed the legal and administrative aspects of immigration, bureaucratic hurdles for immigrants, and the Jewish and non-Jewish public reaction toward the new arrivals from Russia. The exhibition hoped to contribute to the discussion regarding Germany's role as a country of immigration within the context of an ongoing inner-European process.

Artistic director: Dmitrij Belkin
Curator: Fritz Backhaus

Venue and schedule:
Jewish Museum, Frankfurt am Main: 1 Mar. - 30 Oct. 2010