Volunteer Learning Series with the Education Team: The Jewish Movie Theater in Nazi Berlin

In the flurry of anti-Jewish legislation following the Kristallnacht Pogrom in November 1938, Jews were completely banned from attending the cinema. The Jewish Cultural League (or Kulturbund) in Berlin, created by and for Jews soon after the Nazis came to power in 1933, decided to open a movie theater and provide Jews an opportunity to watch primarily German and American movies in a communal space. The cinema was popular and well attended until it was forced to close in the fall of 1941, as the Nazi regime prepared to begin deportations of Jews from the Reich.

In this session, volunteers will learn about the history of the organization while considering why the Nazi regime allowed it to exist and why Jewish audiences would want to attend. Through the analysis of primary source documents, volunteers will learn about an aspect of life under Nazism for the German Jewish community during the critical time period between Kristallnacht and deportations.

This session will be at Am Shalom synagogue at 840 Vernon Ave., Glencoe, IL 60022, and will begin at 10 a.m. and will go through 12 p.m. Kosher refreshments will be provided.