Kosher, Klaus & Copper

Edited by Jutta Dick on behalf of the Moses Mendelssohn Academy Halberstadt The new permanent exhibit of the Berend Lehmann Museum in Halberstadt will open in the spring of 2021. Since 2001, the Museum has been an integral part of the Moses Mendelssohn Academy, founded in 1995. The Museum and the Academy are located in historical buildings of the former Jewish community center. The permanent exhibit will be presented at two locations of the former Jewish community center. In the Klaus on the Rosenwinkel, the former Lehrhaus or place of Jewish learning, the fundamentals of Judaism will be conveyed. In the mikveh on the Judenstrasse, the eventful history of Halberstadt Jews dating back to the 13th century will be told in the context of the history of Jews in Europe. The new permanent exhibit was created because intensive research over the past twenty years has yielded new insights. The significantly expanded collection of autobiographical writings, documents, photos and, in particular, profane and ritual objects from Jewish families from Halberstadt formed the basis for this. The present volume includes the central locations and objects of the exhibit. The objects illustrate the history of changing locations for private or financial reasons and testify to the special attraction of the community. They are also reminders of the glorious past of this important Jewish community and center of Jewish learning. Yet they also show the history of persecution, escape and annihilation. The richly illustrated volume provides an insight into the multi-facetted history of the Jews in Halberstadt, reconstructed through these unique objects.