The curatorial team will introduce the exhibition on the occasion of the opening in Helmstedt. The event will be musically framed by Mathias Michaely. On the occasion of the exhibition location, the show has been expanded to include elements on the historical situation in Helmstedt and also offers insights into the lives of Jewish migrants from Eastern Europe in the Braunschweig region.

Please register for the opening event via the homepage of the parish:
https://georgcalixt.church-events.de/

Information about the exhibition
September 5, 2021 – October 10, 2021

They came from Eastern Europe to the region of Braunschweig. Behind them lay experiences of poverty, war and state reorganization – of uncertain times in upheaval. They were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who were looking for a new home in the period around the First World War and arrived, for example, in Wolfenbüttel. Soon they made up a large part of the Jewish population in the cities. Once they arrived in the Braunschweig region, they were repeatedly antagonized. Their legal status was unsecured. Many of them were stateless. Despite the circumstances, the majority were able to make a living and made efforts to educate their children. Controversial debates about the migrants took place in the daily newspapers. They encountered anti-Semitic reservations in the behavior of the authorities, but also in society at large. Nevertheless, only a part of the new inhabitants decided to migrate further overseas.

The exhibition also looks at the historical situation explicitly in Helmstedt. The life of David Wegmann is traced as an example. Wegmann came from Poland. In 1915, he was brought to the region from Poland as a civilian prisoner, and later lived in Helmstedt as a paper merchant. In 1938, he was deported in the course of the so-called “Polish Action.”

Guided tours of the exhibition can be arranged at: r.denz@ij-n.de

Opening hours:
Monday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Admission is free.

Sponsored by the City of Braunschweig, Department for Culture and Science, Volkswagenwerk Braunschweig, Kulturstadt Wolfenbüttel e.V., Israel Jacobson Netzwerk.