Less than 20 years had passed since the abyss of the Shoah when the American-Jewish photographer Leonard Freed (1929-2006) traveled through West Germany for several months in the early 1960s. With his camera, he wanted to capture how German Jews live today. Freed wanted to use his photographs to counteract the ignorance of Germans about the invisible Jewish minority in their country. He photographs in several Jewish communities, especially in the areas around Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.
52 of his photographs were published in 1965 under the title German Jews Today and combined with text contributions. They take a look at the Jewish community and discuss the relationship between Jews and Germans. Jewish life is fragile, there are only a few small communities whose existence is disputed both inside and outside Germany. The themes from Freed's book are also discussed in two publications that appear in 1963 and 1964: In an issue of the news magazine der SPIEGEL with the headline Jews inGermany and a volume edited by Hermann Kesten entitled Ich lebe nicht in derBundesrepublik. The question of the possibility of living as a Jew in Germany shapes a debate that continues to this day.
All 52 photographs in Leonard Freed's series are part of the museum's collection and were purchased by the photographer's widow, Brigitte Freed. They are being exhibited here in their entirety for the first time.
November 11, 2024 to April 27, 2025
