The Jewish community, anticipating a reunified Germany, is expected to move its headquarters from Bonn to Berlin, possibly even before formal reunification is effected, according to community activists dealing with the matter.
An early move would ease the process of merging the Jewish communities of the two Germanys, they said.
Berlin was the largest center of Jewish life in Germany before World War II, and West Berlin today is home to about 6,000 Jews, the largest Jewish community in Germany.
In East Berlin, by contrast, only 203 people are registered as Jews.
Jewish institutional buildings confiscated by the Nazis before the war were not restored to East Berlin Jews, because they are far too big for the tiny community to use. The same applies to former Jewish communal property in other East German cities.
If and when the two Germanys are united, those properties may again be used.
Berlin is expected to be the capital of a single Germany. Its general population would increase, and so would the Jewish population, as Jewish employees of government offices, embassies and news organizations flock to the capital.
Under those circumstances, the main functioning synagogue on Reikestrasse in East Berlin, which is closed most of the time for lack of congregants, may enjoy a revival.
The Oranienburgerstrasse Synagogue, once the largest in Europe, is being converted to a museum and administrative center.
When the Jewish community moved its headquarters from Dusseldorf to Bonn only two years ago, this university town was expected to remain West Germany’s capital for many more years.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
