Jewish memories in Osnabrück

I was always curious to visit Osnabrück, particularly for the Felix Nussbaum Museum, an artist whose works I become accustomed with during my life in Germany. A sensitive artist, that tried until his last days to fight hate and nonsense with the power of art.

The museum is a relatively new addition to the cultural landscape in Osnabrück. Following a major exhibition of Nussbaum works at the Jewish Museum in New York in 1985, the interest towards his history and work increased. A decade later, a project designed by Daniel Libeskind, the architect of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, won a state competition. I am not a big fan of the work in Berlin, but I might say that this project in Osnabrück epitomizes at a great extent the feeling of solitude and hopeless that you have when thinking about those times. 

Light and raw concrete alternate in an ironic game, where hope is unreal and the overwhelming loneliness is a road going nowhere. 

The exhibition space is greatly dedicated to the works of Nussbaum, many of them discovered in the last decades. It is also focused on activities and sending cultural messages for fighting racism and intolerance.

The museum has three main parts: a oak area where his early works are displayed, a shadows and lights area covering the paintings Nussbaum created during his hidding time in Brussels and the later discoveries, many of them carefully documenting his life in the camp and the spiritual pains and material constraints the Jews were victims during WWII. 

It also presents works of Felka Platek, his life partner, as well as documents that show how the Nazi bureaucracy functioned against its fellow Jewish citizens. It is an overwhelming spiritual experience you leave with the heavy burden of desperation and incomprehension of the human nature in general. 

Close to the museum, there is a small street bearing the name of Rabbiner Stein who between 1994 and 2005 was the Rabbi of Osnabrück who worked intensively for the integration of the Jews from the former Soviet Union and collaborated closely with other religious leaders. He was followed by young Rabbis, themselves from families of former Russian immigrants, who followed his path.

Jews lived in Osnabrück until the 13th century, but as everywhere, they were often victims of expulsions and pogroms. During the Black Death in 1350, many of them were killed and their properties confiscated, as accused by religious leaders of being the reason behind the 'divine punishment'. A 1716 law forbade Jews to enter into commerce without specific authorization of the municipal council. Their number increased though during the French occupation, and a wealthy community of merchants subsidized the construction of a synagogue that was inaugurated in 1906.

In 1927, the synagogue and cemetery were desecrated, one of the many anti-Semitic acts that will mark this period of time. 134 Jews were killed during the Shoah, and many of them immigrated all over the world. Nowadays, most of the community is made by Jews originally from the former Soviet Union.