The “Antisemitism and Youth” project at the House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Educational Site

What experiences do teenagers and young adults in Germany have with Jews and Judaism, and what do they know?

What is their experience in dealing with the Shoah and National Socialism?

These questions and topics are the focus of the “Antisemitism and Youth” project. This qualitative study was conducted by the University of Duisburg-Essen (project team: Fatma Bilgi, Henriette Fischer, Monika Hübscher und Nicolle Pfaff) in cooperation with the House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Educational Site from 2020 to April 2024. The project is funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

Biographical narrative interviews were conducted with 31 non-Jewish teenagers and young adults between the ages of 14 and 26 from different regions of Germany. In addition to the above mentioned topics, the participants were asked what they associated with Judaism and whether they knew any Jews personally or from the media. Also their knowledge about Israel and antisemitism was addressed and if they were familiar with any stereotypes of or negative characteristics associated with Jews. The two responses cited at the beginning of this article suggest that the participant’ experiences and knowledge were based on daily life and their learning environment at school.

A first interim report on the study’s findings was published in the column “Jewish Life in Germany) in the November 2021 issue of Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte (APuZ). Under the heading "Ich weiß, dass sie existieren...”  (I know that they exist...), Monika Hübscher, Member of Parliament Lamya Kaddor, and Prof. Nicolle Pfaff described the contexts in which young people encounter Jewish life. The authors stated – with reference to their own research, as well as that of others – that in school and peer-cultural contexts in particular, “antisemitic ways of speaking are now widely documented” (APuZ 44-45/2021, p. 49).

In the article, the authors discussed the findings of other studies that addressed “principles of educational encounters in intercultural and interreligious dialogue.” From a series of reconstructive studies, it was determined that, among the young people surveyed, a disparity existed between the – often non-existent – interactions with Jews and the media discussions about Jews and Judaism in historical and political contexts. Their discussion “about Jews” was based more on media reports, discourses in social media, and educational contexts.

This was also the impression that emerged from the interviews. School was mentioned as the place in which Judaism most often is discussed. This almost exclusively takes place, however, in the context of National Socialism and the Shoah in which Jews are portrayed as victims. Religion class at school is the only time that Judaism is presented in a contemporary context and as a practised religion; visits to synagogues prove to be the “dominant forms of encounter with Judaism and Jewish people.” (APuZ 44-45/2021, p. 52).

The respondents had an incomplete and sometimes even distorted image of Judaism and Jews based on presentations in the media. Exoticising series and reports disproportionately showed ultra-Orthodox Jews, alongside depictions of antisemitic attacks on Jewish people and Jewish institutions.

The image that the adolescents and young adults interviewed in the study have of Jews is not negatively charged, but Jews do remain marked as “the other”. Visits to synagogues and exchange programs with Israeli schools and institutions have little effect on this because they do not represent ordinary or unencumbered spaces and always take place within an educational and institutional framework. Based on the interviews, schools offer contexts for critically reflecting on antisemitism, in which knowledge related to antisemitism can be discussed and questioned.

It should be noted, however, that the educational encounters approach does not necessarily lead to a better understanding of antisemitism, nor does it touch on the ideological aspects of antisemitism. The fact that antisemitism does not actually require Jews, i.e., that anti-Semitic thought and conduct is not the result of the actions of Jews, is not likely to be reflected in learning about the actions of Jews. Understanding antisemitism as a blueprint for explaining the world, as a flexible code for improving one’s own revaluation, orientation, and identity requires other forms of educational work critical of antisemitism.

The House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Educational Site has accompanied the project from the beginning and has had its own project position since August 2022.

In the second phase of the project, which is currently underway, materials for antisemitism prevention and intervention are being developed for a wide range of users.

The interviews revealed an aspect that is particularly interesting for the educational work at the House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Educational Centre. When asked about their learning experiences related to the Shoah, several interviewees said they would like to see a more emotional and ethical approach to teaching in schools and during visits to memorials. 

At the same time, some of the interviewees felt overwhelmed in the learning spaces; this does not appear to be caused by the pedagogical approach, but rather by the actual learning content. At least in these cases, the participants did not criticise the educational methods. What they did criticise was a lack of sensitivity and a response to emotional breakdowns.