OCTOBER 18, 2002

Rebuilding Jewish Life in Dresden

DRESDEN, GERMANY

DRESDEN, GERMANY--The elderly man expressed interest in receiving Chabad’s new weekly

update, providing that its cover won’t display anything too Jewish. It wasn’t a good idea, he

felt, for his neighbors to know that he is a Jew. So when Rabbi Shneur Zalman Havlin ticked off

“Judaism” as the religious identity of his newborn son at a government registration agency, his

openness was met with surprise. Jews here don’t volunteer that information. A former hotbed

of Anti-Semitism, first under Nazi and then communist rule, Saxony, East Germany, is now

home to 5,000 Jewish families, where old fears die hard.

The desire to keep a low Jewish profile, so prevalent among the Jewish population here creates

a challenge for Rabbi Havlin and his wife Chanie, Chabad’s new representatives to the state

who settled in Dresden with their children this past March. The Havlins are working the Jewish

community with sensitivity, opening their home to create smaller, and more intimate settings

in which to conduct Jewish functions: the Havlin’s living room converts into a synagogue—the

first traditional one in Dresden in over half a century—where fifty people regularly attend

Shabbat services and kiddushim. As well, they’ve adapted their home to include a lecture hall,

classroom, and a meeting place for members of the local community.

Of the 6,000 Jews living in Dresden before the War, only 60 remained. With the fall of the

Iron Curtain and an influx of Russian Jews to the area, the Jewish population here has since

doubled. But half a century of bans on religious practice left little in the way of Jewish

communal religious life, and only three weeks after their arrival here, the Havlins weren’t sure

what kind of turnout to expect at their Passover seders. To their surprise, fifty people showed

up, and it wouldn’t take long before they would establish contact with 400 local Jewish families.

Slowly but surely, a Jewish pride is emerging. Eighty people celebrated joyfully at a Lag B’omer

bonfire and barbecue, despite the scare of a Neo-Nazi event scheduled to take place the next

day, and fifty people joined Chabad for a Shavuot ice cream party. Now, says Rabbi Havlin, the

community seems ready for a public Chanukah menorah lighting ceremony, to take place in

the center of town this Chanukah. Children here will get to make their own olive oil in Chabad’s

trademark Chanukah olive press that will be set up at the local JCC, where they’ll explore all

the holiday rituals through hands-on activities.

The city has recently approved the founding of a Jewish nursery school, scheduled to begin

next fall, and permission to move into the old synagogue building is pending approval.

Given the ominous history of this place, says Rabbi Havlin,“every time a Jewish child identifies

Jewishly, every time a Jewish adult makes another effort to study Torah or participate at a

Jewish function, it is a development worth celebrating.”

MARCH 12, 2004

First Post-Holocaust Orthodox Synagogue Opens in Dresden

DRESDEN, GERMANY

Hundreds turned out out last week to participate at a dedication ceremony for the first

Orthodox synagogue to open in Saxony, Germany since the Holocaust. The synagogue is part

of a new facility named the Rohr Chabad Center, which includes classrooms, social halls,

recreational facilities and a fully kosher commercial kitchen. “This is only a beginning”

promised Rabbi Schneur Havlin, Chabad-Lubavitch representative to Dresden.

Among those attending the ceremony were government officials, the Deputy Prime Minister of

Saxony, the President of Finland who was in the region on official business, Chief Rabbi of

Israel, Yona Metzger and Saxony’s Chief Bishop, who congratulated Saxony’s Jewish

community on this new development.

The Mayor of Dresden expressed his enthusiasm and support for the work of Chabad-

Lubavitch to revive Jewish life in his city. “The arrival of Israel’s Chief Rabbi here is a historic

first for us, and I am pleased to announce, in his presence, that the city will do everything to

facilitate the development of Jewish life in Dresden. If Rabbi Havlin agrees, I’m the first that will

help with the opening of a Jewish school."

Rabbi Havlin took the challenge. “Our newly opened preschool had 18 Jewish children enrolled

in its first year,” he said. “We expect that to double next year, and then we will open a Jewish

day school to serve all of Dresden’s 3,000 children!” He went on to promise to serve Dresden’s

Jewish population by doing his best to bring “the light and warmth of Judaism to the people of

this city.”

Dr. Solka Frankhag, a member of the Dresden Jewish community board, could not hide her

delight. “I am not religious, but I’m so pleased that people here are beginning to recognize that

they can connect to their Jewish roots through the work of Rabbi Havlin. Just look at how many

people turned out here today!”