Disintegration

What is the common denominator of Jewish identity? Are Jews a religious community, an ethnic group or perhaps a group of victims? The congress at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin wished to explore these questions and created a space of self-reflection where participants discussed the issue of Jewish identity. The event succeeded to bring together a wide array of groups which live in Germany: immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Israel, Jewish German survivors of the Holocaust and those who returned from exile. With its motto “Disintegration”, the organisers consciously rejected popular social attributes and wished to distance themselves from the foreign constructs which appeared in Germany after 1945. The provocative motto was in line with the innovative and confrontational approach of the congress. For example, the first topic of the podium discussion was “Exorcism: Can the German and Jewish souls ever be separated?” The programme featured a diverse range of formats, including readings, debates, performances, workshops, Thora discussions and concerts.
The initiators also expressly invited the non-Jewish public to participate and hoped to attract as large an audience as possible. Its openness was reflected in the choice of venue and the political position of the Maxim Gorki Theater.

Artistic directors: Max Czollek, Sasha Marianna Salzmann
With: Yael Almog (IL), Idil Baydar, Ljudmilla Belkin (DE/UA), Michal Bodemann, Yevgeniy Breyger, Leah Carola Czollek & Gudrun Perko (AU), Johannes Frank, Marina Frenk (DE/MD), Michel Friedman (DE/FR), Mirna Funk, Alexander Grodensky, Yuriy Gurzhy (DE/UA), Cecilia (IT) und Yair Haendler (IL), Sapir Heller (DE/IL), Tobias Herzberg, Liad Hussein (DE/US/IL/PS), Daniel Kahn (DE/US), Ijoma Mangold, Hannah Peaceman, Michael Ronen, Deniz Utlu, Till Wonka, Mehmet Yılmaz.