Facts About Us

Our Project

It was in September 1654 that the first Jewish settlers arrived in New Amsterdam which later became New York. These 23 Sephardic Jews were descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. They were to be followed by many more diverse Jewish immigrant groups. While in colonial times, the center of Jewish life was in Newport, Rhode Island, in revolutionary times the South became an important region. In the mid-nineteenth century, the first major wave of German-Jewish immigration started. Then in the late nineteenth century, mass immigration from Eastern Europe started. In terms of numbers, these East European immigrants were the largest group and gave American Jewry today’s shape. Since then, smaller groups have followed such as refugees from Nazi Germany and later emigrés from Russia. All these different immigration groups brought different customs and traditions, different languages, and different political outlooks to the United States.

In Germany, most of the attention has focused on the German-Jewish immigrants. The complex history of American Jewry and its heterogeneous character is often overlooked. There is little knowledge about the historical and cultural contexts in which American Jews have contributed to American society.

As students of American literature, we would like to make a small contribution to a better and more thorough understanding in Germany of Jewish life in America. We are aware that such an undertaking is not without risk for us German students since our own history is blemished by the devastating consequences of Nazism. Nevertheless, as students of literature and language we are committed to contribute to improve intercultural understanding. Our aim is to explore different aspects of Jewish life in America, to share our knowledge with the community, and to engage in dialogue with American Jews.

We formed as a group this year when our professor, Dr. Bettina Hofmann, together with Frau Dr. Schrader, director of the Begegnungsstätte Alte Synagoge developed the program to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in America. As a contribution, we will provide the introduction to the movie sequence shown in the local movie theater Cinetal. But we hope that these events will constitute the beginning, not the end, of our efforts. For the future we envisage a visit to New York City, to organize an exhibition and ...

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