Planning on a Jewish vacation to Germany? No trip is ever complete without a visit to the country’s capital: Berlin. Aside from being the capital city, Berlin is also a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It became the capital of Germany in 1991 and since the reunification of Germany (and thus both parts of the city), is one of the largest cities in Europe and is the second largest city in the European Union. Berlin is located in the northeast of Germany, about 70 km west from the border with Poland, surrounded by the the Federative State of Brandenburg. The Spree flows through the city, with water areas (mainly lakes) accounting for 6.6% of the total area; except for many parks and similar green areas there are also forest areas on the territory of the city (17.9% of the total area). Berlin lies in the flatlands stretching between Saxony in the South and the Baltic Sea in the North. The average altitude is only 34 meters above sea level. The highest point of the otherwise flat city is Teufelsberg (115 m), which is actually an artificial pile created from rubble from bombed houses during WWII. The first historically documented reference of Berlin dates back to 1244. In 1451 Berlin became the governmental city of Brandenburg margraves and prince electors, the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, and the capital of the newly established German Empire in 1871. Berlin was a tolerant city where many persecuted refugees found shelter, including the Hugenots from France (after 1685) and Protestants from Bohemia (after 1730) whose descendant living in the so-called Czech village (Böhmisches Dorf) until the second half of the 20th century still spoke Czech. In the 1920s, Berlin became a European metropolis with a rich political, scientific, and cultural life. Tolerance ended in 1933 when Hitler came to power. After World War II, the city was largely destroyed and Berlin was divided into four occupation sectors. At the beginning of the Cold War, Berlin was at the center of the conflict. Already in 1948, the Berlin blockade occured (where all the city's supply is exclusively aviation), and then to the political division of the city. The actual division is due to the construction of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the new chapter of the city began. Berlin became the old-new capital of reunited Germany. The Jews Of Berlin There is a large Jewish community in Berlin with 11,000 members (according to other data 13,000). It is the largest Jewish community in Germany and one of the largest in Central Europe. There are about 8,000 emigrants from the former Soviet Union from the early 1990s. This means that less than one third of the community are the Jews of the time of West Berlin. About 170,000 Jews lived in Berlin prior to the Holocaust, of which about 90,000 emigrated out of Germany when Hitler rose to power. Of the remaining , only about 800 survived the Holocaust. Berlin also has one of the largest Israeli diasporas in the world today. Many Israelis have been able to gain German citizenship in the past two decades, as their grandparents were German nationals before the Second World War and the Holocaust. It is a sad fact – but also a factor of pride – that in many cases these people were actually murdered in Nazi extermination camps. Although they themselves perished during the war (mostly with whole families) at least one of their descendants survived in some way, moving to Israel after the war, establishing a new family, having children who also had children who are now German-Israelis, as per the lineage. They are mostly from the so-called Third Generation after the Holocaust. In 2017 there were more than 33,000 but the number of Israelis living and working in Germany is even greater. Berlin is often referred to as the "Israeli capital of Europe". Berlin also boasts one of the largest European synagogues, the famous Oranienburger Straße Synagogue. It was built in 1866, burned down during the Kristallnacht in 1938, damaged badly during the bombings of WWII, and recently restored.
These are but a few interesting facts aboat the city of Berlin. Should you decide to join a kosher tour to Germany, you will surely learn much more!
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