Children | Youth

Dror (Heb. freedom) is a socialist-Zionist youth movement founded in Russia before World War I. The organization was also represented in Poland, the Baltic States, Romania, and Hungary. Dror members came mainly from the proletarian milieu and were active in many DP camps for children and youths.

After the Second World War, the Canadian government allowed around one thousand orphans from Europe to emigrate to Canada as part of the War Orphans Project, which was initiated by the Jewish community in Canada and founded in 1919. Manfred Saalheimer, who was born in Würzburg, was in charge of implementing the program. He was supported by the Canadian social worker Ethel Ostry, who had her office in Munich. Between September 1947 and March 1952, 1,116 children from DP camps and children's homes from all over Europe came to Canada.

At the age of 17, Jella Lepman, née Lehmann, organized an international reading room for the children of foreign workers at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory here in 1908.

Her passion for children's and young people's literature lasted a lifetime. In 1949, she co-founded and initiated the International Youth Library in Munich.

Here was located until 1939 the Büro of the youth movement Hashomer Hatzair Germany (in German: Haschomer Hatzair, HHD). This information was revealed by the reestablished youth association as part of the history project in 2022 to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the reestablishment.

"In Görlitz there was a Jewish religious school, whose school rules obliged every child in the community to attend classes (boys after the age of 7 and girls after the age of 8). The main focus of the Jewish education was: Religion, Bible studies, Jewish history, prayer and Hebrew (writing and grammar). In the school year 1888/1889 there were 76 students learning at the Jewish school, in 1889/1890 65, in the year 1890/1891 53 and in 1892/1893 48 students were registered."

Source: Synagogue Memorial "Beit Ashkenaz"

The former Jewish children's home in Fehrbelliner Straße, now the Prenzlauer Berg district center, is an open monument with a historical story. The building was built in 1864 as a residential house. In 1910, it was purchased by the Jüdisches Kinderheim e.V. and converted into a daycare and educational center for Jüdische children and young people. Contemporary witnesses reported that they had attended the after-school care center or kindergarten in the 1920s and 30s. In the 1920s, the children in the home were mainly cared for during the day.

Lina Morgenstern was a writer, women's rights activist and social activist. Born on November 25 in Breslau as the third of six children of the Jewish furniture and antique dealer Albert Bauer and his wife Fanny (née Adler), she founded the " Pfennigverein zur Unterstützung armer Schulkinder" (penny association for the support of poor schoolchildren) in Breslau together with friends as early as 1848. In 1854 she married the merchant Theodor Morgenstern (1827-1910) and moved to Berlin. In 1857 Lina Morgenstern began writing children's books.

Shalom Rollberg is a dialogue project in Berlin-Neukölln that facilitates encounters between Muslim children and young people and Jewish volunteers. The project is an initiative of MORUS 14, a non-profit association that has been promoting education, integration and violence prevention in the neighborhood since 2003. Shalom Rollberg offers help for students, group work and events and initiates interreligious encounters in order to break down prejudices and achieve peaceful coexistence.