Today in Germany there are about 80 million residents. Of these 80 million, a mere 200 thousands are Jews. Some Germans even claim to have never met a Jew before. However, a new exhibit in Berlin intends on breaking this curiosity of German Jews by allowing society to freely ask questions and have them answered first hand by a Jewish man or woman.
While some argue this new exhibit to be humiliating and inappropriate, others find it both informative and enlightening. The exhibit is argued by the owner (who is also Jewish) to be, although very revealing, necessary in the educating of German citizens on something their society has often avoided after the Second World War.
The exhibition is comprised of over 30 showcases. Each showcase is designated to a different question. In example, for the question “Are there still Jews living in Germany?” Jewish guests were invited, six days a week, to answer questions from the public and break stereotypes.
The showcase at the Jewish Museum is rectangular and made of Plexiglas. It is raised up on a dais, closed on three sides, keeping the front open. Within the box is a bench in which the Jewish man/woman sits.
As a testament to the Jewish community in Germany, this new exhibit in the Jewish Museum of Berlin opens the public eye to a group most often unheard and unnoticed.