Edited by Jutta Dick on behalf of the Moses Mendelssohn Academy HalberstadtThe new permanent
exhibit of the Berend Lehmann Museum in Halberstadt will open in the spring of 2021. Since 2001
the Museum has been an integral part of the Moses Mendelssohn Academy founded in 1995. The
Museum and the Academy are located in historical buildings of the former Jewish community
center. The permanent exhibit will be presented at two locations of the former Jewish community
center. In the Klaus on the Rosenwinkel the former Lehrhaus or place of Jewish learning the
fundamentals of Judaism will be conveyed. In the mikveh on the Judenstrasse the eventful
history of Halberstadt Jews dating back to the 13th century will be told in the context of the
history of Jews in Europe. The new permanent exhibit was created because intensive research
over the past twenty years has yielded new insights. The significantly expanded collection of
autobiographical writings documents photos and in particular profane and ritual objects
from Jewish families from Halberstadt formed the basis for this.The present volume includes the
central locations and objects of the exhibit. The objects illustrate the history of changing
locations for private or financial reasons and testify to the special attraction of the
community. They are also reminders of the glorious past of this important Jewish community and
center of Jewish learning. Yet they also show the history of persecution escape and
annihilation. The richly illustrated volume provides an insight into the multi-facetted history
of the Jews in Halberstadt reconstructed through these unique objects.
