Die Geschichte der Juden in der DDR

June 23, 2026 / 7.30 pm / Garden / Hall

Jewish Week 2026

In the GDR, history was a strictly regulated field. It was also assumed that state-enforced anti-fascism left little room for divergent narratives. How could Jewish experiences of persecution and anti-fascist convictions therefore be negotiated and articulated under state-socialist conditions? What role did Jewish survivors in the GDR play in the cultural confrontation with the Shoah and National Socialism? Alexander Walther addresses these questions in his study "The Shoah in the GDR. Actors and Negotiations in Anti-Fascism" (Wallstein 2025).

Alexander Walther is a research associate in the project "Tacheles 2026. Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony" at the Chemnitz State Museum of Archaeology.

In "Ausgeschlagenes Erbe. Die jüdische Geschichte Halberstadts in der DDR" (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2026), Philipp Graf asks to what extent the 'prescribed anti-fascism' and the political culture of the GDR are expressed in this and influence how Jews, Judaism and Jewish life are spoken about in Halberstadt and in the new federal states as a whole, against the backdrop of anti-Semitic reservations that can still be heard in the city today.

Philipp Graf is a research associate at the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture - Simon Dubnow in Leipzig.

Admission: 10,- / 7,- EUR ǀ Event organized by the Literaturhaus Leipzig ǀ Supported by the Cultural Office of the City of Leipzig

Reduced tickets are available for disabled persons and their companions (only if listed on the disabled pass), unemployed persons, schoolchildren and students (up to 35 years of age) as well as holders of the Leipzig Pass or an honorary pass (only on presentation of the pass).