Germany is about to open its biggest Jewish centre since the Holocaust

“Judaism has not only not been uprooted, but is flourishing on an enormous scale,” says Berlin’s chief rabbi.

Four years after the laying of the cornerstone, Germany is preparing for the inauguration of the Pears Jewish campus, a seven floor, 8000 square metre centre of Jewish life in the heart of Berlin.

The largest Jewish building in Germany since the Holocaust is a potent symbol of the community’s revival.

Berlin Chief Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal reflects: "Whoever thought the terrible Holocaust has succeeded in uprooting Judaism in Germany - today receives the Jewish answer, the light will always overcome darkness”.

The centre will include a kindergarten, primary and high school, an event hall, a cultural centre, a youth club for children and teenagers and a hospitality centre that will serve  Berlin's Jewish community and Jewish tourists from all over the world.

The cost of construction of the complex is estimated in the tens of millions of euro. The federal and Berlin state governments also participated in its construction, which sees the centre as a significant pillar in the establishment of Jewish life in the country.

"Those who thought they would succeed in uprooting Judaism in Germany through the cursed and terrible Holocaust - receive today the Jewish answer: Judaism has not only not been uprooted, but is flourishing on an enormous scale," says Rabbi Teichtal.

READ MORE

Seven floors, 8000 square meters: The new Jewish campus in the heart of Berlin (Ynet)

Photo:  Architect’s image of the new building ( Tchoban Voss Architekten)