Since 2012, the Jewish-Christian Encounter and Culture Week has celebrated Jewish culture with concerts, lectures and the traditional game of dreidel. However, it also provides space for critical topics such as antisemitism and the commemoration of the Holocaust. The Hanukkah Days are an expression of the fact that Jewish life is part of Germany and is publicly honored in Tübingen and the region.
The highlight of this year’s Hanukkah Days was the German premiere of the musical “Exodus 1947 – A Ship Makes History,” which was attended by about 500 people in Tübingen and another 1,000 online. The moving performance tells the story of the refugee ship “Exodus 1947” that sailed from France to Palestine with 4,500 Holocaust survivors on board. The musical highlights the passengers’ hopes for a new life and a state of their own, as well as the obstacles they encountered when the ship was stopped by the British Navy. With emotional music, impressive scenes and historical references, the performance captivated the audience. The musical was brought to life by eyewitness Rachel Fletcher, who spoke via video from Israel about her childhood experience on the Exodus. Holocaust survivors Assia Gorban from Berlin and Mina Gampel from Stuttgart were also present at the event.
In addition to the musical, the Hanukkah Days offered other events that provided important historical and cultural perspectives. The lecture “Between Ashes and a New Future 1945-1948” took the audience back to the difficult years after the Holocaust. It showed how the survivors tried to make a new start after the Shoah, between grief and hope, and how the post-war years were marked by the search for identity, home and a new perspective.
The eyewitness interview with Assia Gorban, a Holocaust survivor, was particularly impressive. The young people were able to hear her personal story, ask questions, and make a deep personal connection to this important period in history. The conversations raised participants’ awareness of the importance of remembrance and the need to combat antisemitism in the present.
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, commemorates a miracle from the time of the Maccabees. After the liberation of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Temple, the Jews found only a small jar of pure oil that would have lasted only one day for the Temple candelabra. But the oil burned for eight days, a sign of God’s faithfulness and a symbol of hope and resilience. This miracle is still celebrated today by lighting candles on the Hanukkah candelabrum for eight days.
