Ariel keeps bees on a rooftop. Berlin 2022/09/27
Joachim dressed up as Superjew. Berlin 2018/02/19
Gilbert shows his Saltimbanque tattoo. Berlin 2014/06/06
Kashering pots and tableware for passover at the community of Kahal Adass Jisroel. Berlin 2015/03/29
Shimon, who left Germany for Israel, takes a ritual bath in a mikvah near Lake Tiberias. “In Germany I felt that my Judaism was in jeopardy, here in Israel I feel like a fish in water.” Lake Tiberias, Israel 2013/06/05
Judith serves in the German Army Bundeswehr. Berlin 2021/06/18
Levi in the Purim limo. Berlin 2022/03/17
Tal. Berlin 2017/06/16
Purim party at an underground techno club. Berlin 2018/03/04
Moti is being led to the bride during his Chuppa. Berlin 2010/05/02
Shlomo teases his son on Erev Rosh Hashanah. Berlin 2017/09/20
A baby boy undergoes Brit Milah, performed on the 8th day of a male infants life. Berlin 2016/09/11
Rudolf was born in 1925 in Berlin and emigrated with his parents to the Soviet Union in 1935. He returned to Germany in 1993. Berlin 2018/05/04
Dimitri and his son in their family home. Lübeck 2016/10/03
Gilbert in his caravan. Berlin 2014/06/06
A solo entertainer performs at a gathering during the holiday of Sukkot at Chabad Lubavitch Community Center. Berlin 2017/10/08
Young people enjoy themselves at a Purim party at the community of Chabad Lubavitch. Berlin 2011/03/18
Georg, who calls himself the German Bob Dylan, entertains the Jewish lonely hearts club. Berlin 2015/07/15
Shlomo prepares a beef tongue in preperation of Erev Rosh Hashanah. Berlin 2017/09/20
Rahel. Berlin 2019/01/20
Morning prayer. Frankfurt 2017/03/03
Nick in his Bagel Shop. Berlin 2016/11/06
Two rabbis erect an Eruv during a Jewish gathering. Werbellinsee 2010/05/14
Ariel looking for the ball. Berlin 2015/06/25
Shlomo before training with Kraft Runners, a club of running enthusiasts. Berlin 2018/09/04
Bottles of wine are left after Sukkot celebrations in the kiddush room of Berlin’s Fraenkelufer Synagogue. Berlin 2017/10/08
Shlomo and some friends celebrate Sukkot in his Sukkah in the backyard behind his house. Berlin 2018/09/27
Russian Jewish veterans of World War II dine with the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Germany. Berlin 2012/12/20
Ruslan. Rostock 2015/06/26
A temporary synagogue at Chabad Lubavitch Community Center during the coronavirus pandemic on Erev Rosh Hashanah. Berlin 2020/09/18
Etrog are displayed for sale at a Sukkot market ahead of the festivities at the community of Kahal Adass Jisroel. Berlin 2017/10/01
Purim party at an underground techno club. Berlin 2018/03/04
I’m a Goy
The Jewish community in Germany dates back 1700 years, and it has always had a special status. Always was marginalized, oppressed, exploited—and finally almost wiped out. And with growing old and new right-wing tendencies in Europe, we are still confronted with anti-semitism and xenophobia on a daily basis.
However, today Jewish life in Germany is publicly generally perceived as something special, something precious that no-one really dares to touch. German media tend to portray Jewish life in the same stereotypical way over and over again. Usually religious men in black suits with black hats and long beards. Or most commonly, anonymous men wearing a kippah—from behind. Almost as if no-one dares getting too close.
But what’s beyond that?
While orthodox Jewish life is of course a part of the community, Jewish life takes place in many ways, being Jewish is just as much a matter of identity as it is one of religion. It’s called Jüdischkeit.
For many years I’ve been very intrigued by this secret club, a part of our society which is in a way always present but at the same time invisible.
I wanted to be a part of that.
–––Goj is the Yiddish word for someone not Jewish