Immigration from the Soviet Union - Additional Info Landmarks of Jewish History
Between 1991 and 2004, Soviet Jews immigrated to Germany. A special admission program was intended to take symbolic political responsibility and strengthen Jewish life. In 1989, there were approx. 1,300 congregation members in Hamburg, most of whom were over 50 years old. By 2004, membership had grown to more than 5,000.
The immigration meant that Jewish congregations in Germany grew and became more pluralistic. At the same time, questions about the definition of Jewish identities led to internal tensions. For instance, in the Soviet Union, “Jewish nationality” was passed on from the father. According to religious law in Orthodox congregations, however, the status of the mother is decisive. The majority of immigrants were also not religious. Many did not join any congregation or left it again.
New plurality
The new composition expanded the Jewish community both within and outside the Hamburg Jewish Congregation. In 2004, the Liberal Jewish Congregation – by today, Israelite Temple Association of Hamburg of 1817 – was founded, numbering about 300 members today. A Reform Synagogue was established in 2016 under the umbrella of the Unified Congregation. In addition, there are also Jews not belonging to any congregation and defining their Judaism differently.
Infrastructure
The TuS Makkabi Hamburg e. V. sports club was founded by members of the congregation back in 1977. Today, it has around 200 Jewish and non-Jewish members. The Joseph Carlebach Educational Center moved into the former Talmud Torah School in 2007. In 2020, the first high school graduation exams (‘Abitur’) since 1938 were held there. The Chabad Lubavitch religious association runs a rabbinical seminary on Rothenbaumchaussee and, since 2023, a kosher supermarket.
Cultural Life
Today, a wide range of Jewish cultural offerings exists in Hamburg. These are aimed at both Jewish and non-Jewish visitors. These include, for example, the Mit2Wo Kulturnetzwerk e. V. and the Jüdische Union e. V. Since 2023, the Hamburg Jewish Congregation has been organizing the Jewish Culture Days every two years and, in cooperation with the Institute for the History of the German Jews, the Jewish Film Days every year.
Captions
Betty Heine Hall Synagogue
Oliver Hengel, Fotografie, 2025
Since 2023, the Reform wing of the Hamburg Jewish Congregation has been using Betty Heine Hall in the former Israelite Hospital as a prayer hall. It was designed as a synagogue space when it was built. After completion of the new Bornplatz Synagogue, the Reform Synagogue will move into new premises there.
Synagogue on Flora-Neumann-Strasse
Oliver Hengel, Fotografie, 2025
The gymnasium of the former Israelite Girls’ School is the community center of the Liberal Congregation. Until 2025, it shared the premises with other institutions, at times with the Reform wing of the Unified Congregation. Meanwhile, a fully-fledged synagogue has also been established in the building.
Jewish Salon on Grindel
Event with Thomas Meyer and Peter Niesen at Warburg House, 2023, Michael Kohls, photography, 2023
The aim of the Jewish Salon, founded in 2007, is to promote and convey Jewish culture. Events on Jewish literature, music, and film take place on a regular basis. For a long time located at Café Leonar on Grindelhof, the salon is now moving around in the Grindel district.
Hanukkah on the Alster
Armin Levy, Fotografie, 2018
Contemporary Judaism is also present in the city’s public sphere today. “Hanukkah on the Alster” is an annual event organized by the Hamburg Jewish Congregation. On each of the eight evenings of the Festival of Lights in December, a candle on the Hanukkah menorah is lit at Binnenalster.