International School Project Days 2023

Alef-bet – the musical alphabet of remembrance culture

Today, in a time in which blatant anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews is once again openly apparent in Germany, knowledge of Jewish-German history and an active culture of remembrance has become the central field of action for our democratic society. The knowledge of the students about Jewish life, Judaism, the state of Israel and Jewish-German history is not available or only in smallest fragments. This large knowledge gap also fosters increasing anti-Semitism in the younger generations.

The core approach of the project “Alef-bet – the musical alphabet of remembrance culture” is to fill the existing deficit with knowledge.

The “Alef-bet” school project days, which are supported by the Liz Mohn Culture and Music Foundation, the “Project 2025 – Arche Musica” and other funding sources, enable the formation of an initial basic knowledge of Jewish life, the state of Israel and anti-Semitism. The project days open the way for an active dialogue and getting to know each other between the pupils and the participating Jewish, Israeli, German project partners. They support the active culture of remembrance and promote learning about Jewish life, Jewish heritage, the history of Israel and Jewish-German history.

Our heartfelt thanks go to

The school administrators and their school teams:

• Barbara Hauck (Principal Maria Ward Realschule Bamberg)
• Cornelia Heid (Principal Mittelschule Scheßlitz)
• Stefan Reheuser (Principal Maria Ward Gymnasium Bamberg)
• Michael Strehler (Principal Kaiser Heinrich Gymnasium Bamberg)

The project sponsors:

• Liz Mohn Kultur- und Musikstiftung
• Oberfrankenstiftung
• Stiftung der Sparkasse Bamberg
• Doktor Robert Pfleger-Stiftung
• Rainer Markgraf Stiftung
• Representative of the Bavarian State Government for Jewish Life
• Lions Club Bamberg Residenz
• Musikhaus Thomann GmbH

Our workshop team:

• Danny Donner (Tel Aviv School of Arts, Jerusalem)
• Rabbinerin Dr. Yael Deusel
• Fiona Atay-Sandyk
• Anke Spindler
• Grit Spindler
• Terry Swartzberg
• Tim Kurockin
• Patrick Nitzsche
• Dr. Thomas Sparr

Our project partners and project guests:

• The Central Council of Jews and the “Meet a Jew” team
• Minister of State Joachim Herrmann
• Dr. Felix Klein
• Sylvia Löhrmann, former Minister of State
• Gabriele Czornohuz
• MdL Dr. Ludwig Spaenle 
• MdB Thomas Silberhorn
• Andrei Kovacs
• Arno Schimmelpfennig
• Lisa-Maria Graf, Lilian Liebl, Dr. Christian Lorenz and the education office of the district of Bamberg
• The Bamberg City Police Department and the Bamberg County Police Department

Impressions from the event