Jewish Cultural Year: Participation Exceeds Expectations

Jewish communities feel that they are not isolated

The themed year aims to bring Jewish culture to life. According to the organizers, the program so far has included jazz concerts, operetta evenings, as well as exhibitions and lectures on the lives and work of Jewish men and women in Saxony. In addition to cultural institutions, associations and civil society organizations can also participate. The threshold was deliberately kept low, according to Sabine Wolfram, project manager and director of the State Museum of Archaeology, which is housed in the former Schocken Jewish department store in Chemnitz.

The Jewish communities have clearly felt “that they are not in isolated cultural and religious solitude, but rather are a significant and indispensable part of Saxon culture as a whole,” said Küf Kaufmann, chairman of the Jewish Religious Community of Leipzig.

Approximately 1.45 million euros have been allocated for the Tacheles Theme Year initiated by the Free State, said Culture Minister Barbara Klepsch (CDU) during the program’s presentation in December. The Free State’s Cultural Foundation also announced that an additional funding program had been launched for small-scale projects planned on short notice.