»Discovering traces of Jewish life«

Walking tour for young people aged 14 upwards

The Anne Frank Zentrum is located in the historic »Spandauer Vorstadt« area of Berlin-Mitte. From the 18th century, this area was characterised above all by its Jewish population. The second-oldest Jewish cemetery in Berlin, the synagogue in Heidereutergasse and the New Synagogue in Oranienburger Straße were among the landmarks bearing witness to its Jewish heritage.

Sites of Jewish life

During the tour, you will see various sites that exemplify the eventful history of Jewish life in Berlin, including Große Hamburger Straße. The Jewish community had an old people’s home constructed in this street in the mid-19th century. It was later closed down by the Gestapo und turned into an assembly camp where Jews were detained prior to their deportation. The nearby St. Hedwig Hospital, also part of the tour, provided a number of Jews with refuge from persecution.

Past and Present

Yet which sites continue to remind us of the persecution and deportation of Berlin’s Jews? Pointers to this history include the commemorative plaque for Otto Weidt at the Workshop for the Blind museum, the memorial in Rosenstraße, where the largest spontaneous protest against the deportation of Jews took place in 1943, the »Abandoned Room« memorial on Koppenplatz, the monument in Große Hamburger Straße and many »Stolpersteine« (stumbling stones) set into the ground. The tour also addresses examples from the present such as the former »Jewish Free School«, which the Jewish community reopened as a Jewish high school in 1993 and has maintained ever since.

There is plenty for both young people and adults to discover on this tour.