Readings and online discussion on Days of Jewish Culture

Chemnitz Adult Education Centre is taking part in this year's Days of Jewish Culture with two readings followed by a discussion and an online talk.

On Wednesday, 5 June, from 7 to 8.30 pm, in the event hall at the TIETZ, "Weiterdenken - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Sachsen e. V." and the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre invite you to a presentation of the book "1948 - Der erste arabisch-israelische Krieg" by Israeli historian Benny Morris, which has been translated into German for the first time. The two translators Johannes Bruns and Peter Kathmann will present the standard historical work, which was published in the original in 2008, and report on the background to the translation. The event will be moderated by Julian Meinelt.

Participation is free of charge. Registration is possible by telephone on 0371 488 4343 or online at www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410201.

In his monograph "1948 - The First Arab-Israeli War", historian Benny Morris sheds light on the background and events that led to the end of the British Mandate in Palestine, the fragmentation of Arab-Palestinian society and ultimately the birth of the State of Israel. The focus is on the immediate reaction to the founding of the state: the pan-Arab war of aggression. His meticulous analysis of the Israeli and international archives, which have been accessible since the 1980s, provides a documentary view of the history of the 1948 war and its political and military actors. In the debates about Israel and the Palestinian national movement as well as Zionism and expulsion, this standard work makes an important contribution to historical enlightenment.

The event is a cooperation between Weiterdenken - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Sachsen e. V. and the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre as part of the 33rd Days of Jewish Culture Chemnitz 2024.

On Tuesday, 11 June at 7 pm, the Adult Education Centre invites you to an online discussion with Juna Grossmann, who runs the blog "irgendwiejuedisch.com". She will talk about her blog and her way of observing and writing.

Registration for this online event is possible until Tuesday, 11 June 2024, 12 noon at www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410200. The access link will be sent by email at least three hours before the event begins. Participation is free of charge.

Juna Grossmann started the blog "irgendwiejuedisch.com" in 2008 and a lot has happened since then. What began as a way to write about life in Berlin as a liberal Jewish woman, about the problems in and sometimes outside the community, was intended to open a window on Jewish life in Germany. Today she writes about everything that moves her - her work in museums and memorials, her life in the GDR, political and artistic matters, her experiences with anti-Semitism and her view of global events.

The event is a co-operation between the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Saxony and the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre.

On Wednesday 12 June at 7 p.m. in course room 4.07 at the TIETZ, Beate Rau will read from the memoirs of her mother Ilse Rau. Peter Blechschmidt will introduce the topic on this evening.

Participation in the event entitled "I'm not allowed to play with you anymore because you're Jewish - a childhood in Chemnitz under the swastika" is free of charge. Registration is possible by telephone on 0371 488 4343 or online at www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/S2410202.

"I'm not allowed to play with you anymore because you're Jewish." These words put an end to a childhood friendship on the Kaßberg in Chemnitz in the 1930s. Ilse Rau, née Benda, the child of a Jewish textile entrepreneur and a Protestant mother, experienced marginalisation, disenfranchisement and the economic decline of her family. She was ten years young when her mother fled with her to Belgium. Stateless and "illegal", they both survive in occupied Brussels. 70 years later, Ilse Rau writes about this time in her book "My Mara Years". After the end of the war, both dare to make a new start in southern Germany. What the daughter succeeds in doing, the mother is denied. Ilse Rau became the mother of nine children and worked as a psychotherapist into old age.

Further information on the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre's contributions to the Days of Jewish Culture can be found at: VHS programme for the Days of Jewish Culture