„There was this elephant in the room that nobody ever talked about“ (“There was this elephant in the room that nobody ever talked about.), Martin Goldschmidt – son of Günther Goldschmidt and author of the book „Die unausl;schliche Symphonie“ – metaphorically describes the guilt his parents felt as ¨survivors toward the victims of National Socialism.

Former cattle meadow of the Lazarus family.

"The Werkstattfilm association has been active for over 20 years in the field of regional film media work as well as media history.We have made it our task to work on various socially relevant topics with the help of visual media (film and photo), to present them in various forms and thus to make a contribution to social discourse." (Source: http://www.werkstattfilm.de)

The synagogue at Peterstraße 6 in Oldenburg was built in 1854. It was directly connected with the Jewish elementary school (elementary school) and associated teachers' apartments. The official dedication of the synagogue took place on August 24, 1855. State Rabbi Bernhard Wechsler (born 1807-1874) delivered a very impressive sermon. Grand Duke Nikolaus Friedrich Peter (b. 1827-1900) and Grand Duchess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg (b. 1826-1896) were present.

Since the Old Jüdische Friedhof an der Dedestraße was closed, only this cemetery is still used by the community.

In 1814, a plot of land was purchased by the Jewish community and a cemetery was built on it.

In 1917, the Land Rabbi Dr. David Mannheimer suggested the construction of a mourning hall. Initially, the legacy of the Zwischenahn Jewess Emilie Cohn (1844-1917) was to be used for the construction. Later, community member Leo Leiser Trommer donated the hall in honor of his deceased son (Arthur Trommer). On May 1, 1921, the mourning hall was ceremonially opened.

On 06.08.1992 the Jewish Community of Oldenburg was re-established. The community caused a sensation because gender equality was put in the foreground: During the founding meeting, 18 participants* were present, both male and female, reflecting the community's desire for gender equality.

Samuel Lazarus was born on 13.10.1887 in Stapelmoor (East Frisia). He had two brothers, Paul and Simon Lazarus, who, like him, learned the profession of farmer in the family business and at the same time were active in the Oldenburg livestock trade. In May 1922 he married Gerta Jakobs from Oldenburg. They had three children: Jan, Ilse and the early deceased Klaus.

In 1935, the state rabbi Leo Trepp decided for various reasons that a Jewish school had to be established for all Jews*Jewesses from Oldenburg and the surrounding area.

It finally opened in October 1937 with 50 pupils* and two teachers, Moses Katzenberg and Alexander Freund, in the Jewish community center, right next to the synagogue at Peterstraße 6.