Voices. A Mosaic of Ukrainian-Jewish Life. Idea & Work Process

Lviv (Lemberg), Kharkiv and innumerous other cities and villages were once centers of vibrant Jewish life. After the destructions during the Shoah, new centers have emerged and Jewish life has changed fundamentally. Many members of local Jewish communities in Germany have roots in Ukraine. New community members have arrived in 2022 due to the Russian war against Ukraine.
 
What are the cultural memories Jews and Jewesses from Ukraine carried with them to Germany? How do they remember the times of the Shoah, of Soviet rule or of Ukrainian independence? What was it like it to start a new life here in Augsburg? How does immigration from Ukraine influence the Jewish community in Augsburg?

With 2.7 million people, Jews and Jewesses were one important minority in Ukraine. About 1.6 million of them were murdered during the Shoah. The memory of the Shoah and the reconstruction of Jewish life were complicated under the anti-Jewish rule of the Soviets. In independent Ukraine, Jewish museums and other forms of remembrance culture were founded in many places. While some of these institutions had to shut down completely in 2022, many kept working under challenging conditions.

Ukrainian borders moved many times over the centuries. One could pass an entire life in one city but still have to change their passport four or five times. Cities like Lviv and Odesa, but also small shtetls like Uman or Berdychiv, became famous in the entire Jewish world.

The exhibition puts spotlights on a variety of different voices, each telling personal stories and views. They define their own Jewish identity, creating a diverse and lively mosaic of Ukrainian-Jewish life.

With financial support from
Ernst-von-Siemens Stiftung 
AVA Abfallverwertung Augsburg KU
Berthold Leibinger Stiftung GmbH  
Stadtsparkasse Augsburg
Verein der Freund*innen und Förder*innen des Jüdischen Museums Augsburg Schwaben
Google Arts & Culture