The Jewish DP Hospital St. Ottilien 1945-48

Symposium in St. OttilienJune 10-12 2018

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DP Hospital St. Ottilien 1945-48

Delivery Ward and Nursery (today Guest House “Ot-tilienheim”)

Houses for medical staff (today houses for employees)

Administration Center for UNRRA and later for the Jewish self-administration (no longer exists)

Hospital: rooms for patients (today Guest House and Retreat Center)

Hospital: Surgery and Therapy rooms, in the basement the kosher kitchen (today middle school)

House used for the Torah School (Yeshiva) and the kindergarten (today home for refugees)

Monastery: in part already used by returned monks, in part used as living quarters for the hospital staff

Site of the Liberation Concert on May 27, 1945

Building used as a store room for the Hospital in the basement (clothes and food) and as a tailor’s shop in the upper rooms. The large room (“library”) served as a synagogue (no longer exists)

Cemetery of the DP-Hospital

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The Jewish Hospital at St. Ottilien

From April 1945 to May 1948, the dissolved Benedictine monastery of Sankt Ottilien was transformed into a Dis-placed Persons Hospital, rehabilitation center and camp where over the years several thousand concentration camp patients were cared for. It served as a central maternity station for Jewish mothers where about 420 children were born. Here some noteworthy events took place: On May 27, 1945, the liberated camp prisoners organized a Liber-ation Concert. On July 25-26, 1945, liberated Jews from all military zones met here for the first time and founded a central committee. Here, under the supervision of Rab-bi Shmuel Abba Snieg, the first volumes of the “Survivor’s Talmud“ were edited.The Symposium tries to document, reconstruct and analyze the history of the Hospital and its setting by presenting papers on its medical, political and cultural aspects.

OrganizationUniversity of Munich

Department of Jewish History and CultureDr. Evita Wiecki

evita.wiecki@lrz.uni-muenchen.de

Jewish Museum Munichwww.juedisches-museum-muenchen.de

Archabbey of St. Ottilienwww.ottilien.de

The Symposium is under the patronage of Dr. h.c. Charlotte Knobloch

President of the Jewish Communityof Munich and Upper Bavaria

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Schedule

Sunday, June 10, 2018

14:00 Opening of the exhibition “The Benedictine Monas-tery St. Ottilien and its Jewish History 1945-48” in cooperation with the Jewish Museum of Munich

Greetings by Archabbot Wolfgang Oexler (St. Ottilien), Dr. Charlotte Knobloch (Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria), Thomas Eichinger (District Administrator of Landsberg am Lech), and Mayor Joseph Loy (Eresing)

Presentation by Dr. Julia Fleckenstein (Jewish Museum of Munich)Place: Gallery of St. Ottilien

15:30 Jewish Life in Bavaria after WW II

Public conference by Prof. Dr. Michael Brenner (Jewish History Department of Munich)

Moderation: Thorsten Otto, Music: Susanne WeinhöppelPlace: Retreat House of St. Ottilien, Lecture Room, 3rd floorFollowed by Reception

This public part will be held in German, the non-public Symposium in English starts at 18:00 and takes place in the Lecture Room of the Retreat House.

18:00 Opening and Introduction of the Symposium

Presentation: Evita Wiecki and Fr Cyrill Schaefer

18:30 The DP Hospital St. Ottilien between German, Ameri-can and Jewish (Self-)Administration

Prof. Andrea Sinn, Elon University, USADiscussion moderated by Eva Wiecki, M.A.

20:00 Dinner

Monday, June 11, 2018

9:00 Medical Problems of Holocaust Survivors and DPs Dr. Jael Geis, Jewish Museum Berlin

Towards a History of the St. Ottilien Hospital (1941/2–1948) Eva Wiecki M.A., University of Munich

St. Ottilien – a place of rehabilitation for Holocaust survivors as individuals and a public

Dr. Ada Shein, Jerusalem

Coffee Break

11:15 Americans, Jews, and Monks – Protagonists of the DP-Period in St. Ottilien Mirjam Spandri, University of Munich

Religious Life at the DP Hospital Julia Schneidewind, University of Munich

Rabbi Abraham Klausner, Dr. Zalman Grinberg, and the DP Zionism

Prof. Avinoam Patt, Hartford University, USA

12.30 Lunch

15:00 “Zachor – Remember!” But How? And What? About Commemoration and Theories of CommemorationProf. Erik Petry, Center of Jewish Studies, Basel

DP-History in Expositions and MemoriesJutta Fleckenstein, Jewish Museum Munich

Commemoration of Family History. Discussion with descendants of DP Patients and Medical StaffModeration: Prof. Petry and Dr. Hammermann

18:45 Dinner

19:30 Testimony of contemporary witness Prof. Robert Hilliard Moderation: Dr. Gabriele Hammermann, Dachau Memorial

Site

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

9:00 Yiddish Literature and Press Work of the DP Tamar Lewinsky, Jewish Museum Berlin

Cultural Events at the DP Hospital St. Ottilien Lara Theobald, University of Munich

The Liberation Concert and the Jewish Camp Orchestra Uli Unseld, Dachau Memorial Site

Coffee Break

11:15 Baby Boom and Gender Question during the DP Period

Atina Grossman, Cooper Union, New York

DP Children and the Activity of WHO

Claudia Moisel, University of Munich

12.30 Lunch

14:00 Children in St. Ottilien

Verena Buser, University of Munich

Children in St. Ottilien and their Fate

Carolin Piorun, University of Munich

Discussion

16:30 Departure for the Kaufering Camp 7 and guided tour

18:30: Reception at the Historical Town Hall of Landsberg am Lech by Town Mayor Mathias Neuner

Installing Memorial Sites in the District of Landsberg am Lech

Ulrich Fritz, Bavarian Foundation for Memorial Sites

Farewell Dinner in Landsberg am Lech and return to St. Ottilien.

Program after the Symposium ... for those who have travelled long distances

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

9:00 Departure by bus from the parking site of the mon-astery

9:30 Guided tour through the underground military com-pound Kaufering (Welfenkaserne) which was con-structed by forced labor from the Kaufering Concen-tration Camps

14.30 Guided tour through the Memorial Site Dachau

Thursday, June 14, 2018

9:00 Departure by bus from the parking site of the mon-astery

10:00 Munich: Guided tour through the Synagogue and the Jewish Museum (Exposition: St. Ottilien and its Jew-ish History 1945-48)

12:30 Lunch at Restaurant Einstein

How to find St. Ottilien

By carNavigation System:

86941 St. Ottilien, Erzabtei 3(House numbers were only recently introduced,

so most navigation systems have only the postal code of St. Ottilien. Since the place is so small, you are already

saved if you have managed to arrive at St. Ottilien)Please check in at the Reception of “Exerzitienhaus”.

If you arrive later than 18:00, you find your room keysat the Reception of the Monastery.

By trainFrom Munich central station: Metro line S 4 to Geltendorf

(final station) and foot walk of 15 minutes (we pick you up at the train station, if you send an email

or phone your arrival time)

By planeArrival at Munich Airport. From the Airport Metro Station

with line S 1 or S 8 to Munich central station and then change to line 4 (direction Geltendorf).

For further information seewww.dphospital-ottilien.org

Afternoon: Exploring Munich City Centre with guide Dan Chaim Eytan (you can also do it on your own, only don’t miss the bus back to St. Ottilien)

17:00 Return to St. Ottilien

Friday, June 15, 2018

9:00 Departure by bus from the parking site of the mon-astery

Visit of beautiful places in the mountain region: Oberammergau, monastery of Ettal, royal castle of Linderhof, the lake region etc. Guided tours by Dan Chaim Eytan

18.00 Return to St. Ottilien

REGISTRATION

Fr Cyrill SchaeferErzabtei Sankt OttilienD-86941 St. Ottilien

+49 8193 71711 cyrill@ottilien.de

Participation and Feescomplete Symposium: 140,00 Euro

(boarding, meals, excursion to Landsberg)single days: 30,00 Euro

(includes meals, but without boarding)

Boarding and conferences are in the guesthouse of the monastery.Those born at the hospital are guests.

We try to offer kosher food for all meals.