West Berlin Jewish Center Marks 10th Anniversary with Performances by Artists

The local Jewish Center celebrated its 10th anniversary with performances by Jewish and Israeli artists that were televised over the Berlin network. The event coincided with the 50th anniversary of Berlin’s Tribune Theater and was addressed by one of the original members of that troupe, the German-Jewish actor, Fritz Kertner.

He recalled that the Tribune Theater was the birthplace of the Expressionist movement in the theater. It had left-wing leanings and many of its artists and authors were Jewish. For that reason, Mr. Kertner recalled, it became one of the first targets of the Nazis. Some of the Jewish performers escaped from Germany but others died in concentration camps or took their own lives. Mr. Kertner said. He read a long list of Jewish martyrs of the Tribune Theater.

The Basheva dance company from Tel Aviv received a warm reception here at the start of its second European tour. The troupe is appearing here under the auspices of the Berliner Festwoche. They will perform in Scandinavia and Portugal before returning to Israel. An Israeli flag flew over the theater where they performed for five days.