Leipzig celebrates diversity: Jewish Week inspires from June 15th to 22nd!

Leipzig celebrates diversity: Jewish Week inspires from June 15th to 22nd!

The 16th Jewish Week in Leipzig is just around the corner and will take place from June 15th to 22nd, 2025. Organized by the Cultural Office of the City of Leipzig and the Ariowitsch-Haus cultural and meeting center. V., will offer numerous events and encounters around Jewish life and culture in the city this week. Over 100 events involving more than 60 institutions are intended to present a wide range of Jewish art and culture. This event is organized every two years and has established itself as an important part of cultural life in Leipzig. Leipziginfo reports that the Ariowitsch House will act as a central location for many of the meetings.

The opening ceremony will take place on June 15th in the Höfe am Brühl, a place with historical significance for Jewish life in Leipzig. City leader Burkhard Jung and Küf Kaufmann, chairman of the board of the Israelite Religious Community, will open the week. The Sounds of Hope orchestra and singer Karolina Trybała provide musical accents. A public commemoration of Channa Gildoni at the Great Community Synagogue Memorial will also take place on opening day. This memorial event will be accompanied by the Leipzig Synagogue Choir under the direction of Philipp Goldmann.

Diverse program

The festival program offers a variety of formats: concerts, readings, films, lectures, contemporary witness discussions, exhibitions as well as theater and dance performances are offered. An outstanding example is the discussion panel “Torn from Forgetting. Jewish Portraits from the Mittelmann Photo Archive in Leipzig,” which will take place on June 19th in the Grassi Museum of Ethnology. In addition, the 4th Tour of Tolerance will take place on June 22nd with an interreligious brunch in Rosental, followed by a bicycle tour to important stations of Jewish life in Leipzig.

Another interesting program item is the Schaubühne Lindenfels, which will present the guest performance “Noir Haas” from the twin city Brno on June 26th. This piece deals with the fate of the Jewish brothers Pavel and Hugo Haas.

Jewish life in Leipzig

After Berlin, Leipzig has the largest Jewish community in East Germany. This vibrant and active community is highlighted by Jewish Week. Organizers and participants want to promote Jewish life in the city and make it visible. Current information about the events is available on the City of Leipzig website, and program brochures will be available in all participating venues as well as in the New Town Hall and the Tourist Information. The program will be available online and in print from May 26, 2025. Ariovich House adds that the Jewish community is actively involved in the events and numerous institutions will contribute to the diversity of the event.