How should we address antisemitic representations and narratives in exhibitions? This was the question that participants at the network event on 17 November discussed with staff from the Jewish Museum Berlin and later from the Anne Frank Centre. 

During the event, we were introduced to the permanent exhibitions of the two institutions, which take different approaches to topics related to antisemitism and Jewish life. In our collegial discussions, we focused on critical educational methods for addressing antisemitism. 

The Jewish Museum Berlin sees itself as a museum about German-Jewish history from its origins to the present day. It presents this history primarily from Jewish perspectives. During the collegial exchange, Sarah Hiron, Adi Singer, Fabian Schnedler and Oliver Glatz from the museum’s education department showed us how antisemitism is addressed in the exhibition narrative at several stations, beginning in the Middle Ages. They also described the challenges they face in their educational work. Antisemitism as a current and distinct issue is the explicit theme of the ‘debate room,’ in which participants are encouraged to take a position based on videos and voting. 

After lunch, we visited the Anne Frank Centre, which is primarily aimed at young audiences. The exhibition tells the story of Anne Frank’s life within the framework of the history of National Socialism and the Holocaust. It makes explicit references to the present day and addresses current forms of antisemitism. After viewing the exhibition individually, the participants engaged in a discussion with Verena Haug from the Anne Frank Centre’s exhibitions department. 

This was followed by a presentation by Franziska Göpner and Duha Binici on the quality criteria of critical education on antisemitism, which were developed by the Competence Centre for Critical Education and Research on Antisemitism in cooperation with the Competence Network Antisemitism. We were given time for individual reflection, followed by a discussion of challenges participants had experienced in their own educational work. The participants agreed that they and the staff of their institutions needed further training and should consider how they could apply critical methods on antisemitism in their education programmes. We plan to revisit these questions at the closing event on 28 January.