Route du Judaism Rhenan Mi Dor Le Dor Europe seminars follow-up in Offenburg and Strasbourg this winter
On January 19th and February 2nd the MiDorLeDor Alsace/Baden group held its third and fourth meetings in Offenburg and Strasbourg. The program, led by Françoise Elkouby, President of the Routes of Judaïsme Rhénan, and Christiane Walesch-Schneller, founder of the Blaues Haus in Breisach, involved about 30 participants from Germany and France.
The event in Offenburg began with a guided tour introducing the town’s Jewish history, including a specific activity at the medieval mikveh. This provided an opportunity to discuss the significance of the ritual of purification in Judaism, as well as the historical context of the medieval period.
On the other hand, Francine Mayran (Strasbourg) and Sandra Butch (Freiburg) presented their original and innovative approaches to transmitting the history of the Shoah to younger generations in school classes in both France and Germany, using methods such as the memory suitcase and graphic novels.
The group visited the Salmen, guided by M. Reinbold, director of the Municipal Archives. This historic site, located in the heart of the old city, has become a symbolic place for cultural mediation. It commemorates the early steps of democratic life in Germany and also served as a synagogue from 1875 to 1939, before the community was deported and most of the city’s Jewish heritage was destroyed.
In Strasbourg, the group was joined by historian Carole Wenner, who led an on-site discussion following a tour on the Jewish history of Strasbourg. The discussion also explored Christian art narratives depicting Judaism in the late Middle Ages, as seen in the Museum of L’Œuvre Notre-Dame.
This seminar program has been highly valued by participating practitioners, who highlighted its role in linking different storytelling traditions from Rhineland’s Jewish heritage. It will be followed by a collaborative cultural co-design process in the spring, with the goal of implementation in the following months.
MiDorLeDor Europe is based on the MiDorLeDor project developed by the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning, coordinated by AEPJ, and co-funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme of the European Union.
