VIDEO: Hundreds of Jews dance with Torah on German street once named for Hitler
Hundreds danced with scrolls in Freiburg im Breisgau on Kaiser Joseph Street, which during the Holocaust was changed to Adolf Hitler Street
Hundreds of Jews danced down a street in Germany that had been named for Adolf Hitler during a Torah dedication ceremony.
The scroll in Freiburg im Breisgau was dedicated Sunday to Israeli terror victims, and some of its letters had been written by Jews who had lost relatives in attacks, according to the local Chabad emissary, Rabbi Yakov Gitler.
“Today we proved that no matter what happens to the Jewish nation, we blossom and we are alive,” he told Chabad Online.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Gitler said it was a “very special Torah.”
“The Torah was started 14 years ago by a bar mitzvah boy whose father died in a terrorist attack at Cafe Hillel,” he said. “The bar mitzvah boy was partnered up with another bar mitzvah boy and [his family] celebrated together with another family. At the bar mitzvah, they decided to start writing the Torah.”
Gitler said the street in the southwest German city is now called Kaiser Joseph Street, as it was before World War II, but during the Holocaust it was changed to Adolf Hitler Street.
“There are pictures from the Holocaust that show the street covered in swastikas,” he said.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
