By Pia Fredebeul
Jewish life has a long tradition in Berlin – especially in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district. To bring this history back to life, the district has developed a special app. But for fear of anti-Semitic reactions, it is not being published (yet).
“We would like to have the app on a historic date like November 9th. released,” says Kirstin Bauch (43, Green Party), district mayor of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. “Due to the political situation, we decided against it.”
But wouldn’t now be the right time to use the app to take a stand against the increasing hatred of Jews in the capital? “I don’t want to take the risk that something will happen to people on the walk or that they won’t even start out of fear,” says Bauch.
In fact, according to Bauch, there has been no specific request from the Jewish community to postpone the launch of the app.
The district mayor cites advertising for the project as another reason against publication: “Our goal is also to promote the app.” This cannot be done sufficiently in the current situation.
Instead, the app is scheduled to be released in the spring – including a major marketing campaign.
How does the app actually work? The district developed the interactive program, which takes users on a walk through the district to important places such as the Schaubühne, the KaDeWe and the Yva-Bogen. In addition, icons of the past such as Erich Mendelsen, Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein and Helmut Newton tell their stories. Actually a wonderful homage to the great importance of Jewish life in Berlin.
“The generation of contemporary witnesses is dying out,” says Kirstin Bauch (43, Green), district mayor of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. “That’s why we wanted to make the culture of remembrance from back then tangible again.” Just not now…