Germans and Jews

This engaging, thoughtful and contemporary documentary about the current relationship between Germany and its Jewish population, begins with a lively dinner party. In the middle of the meal, a German woman suddenly shares that she often feels self-conscious uttering the words “Juden” and “Deutschland” and only dares to say them in English. It is a singular moment in the conversation that serves as a metaphor for all of the dinner guests, who come together from diverse backgrounds of faith and nationality, including German-born Jews, Israelis who have immigrated to Berlin, and non-Jewish Germans...a moment that profoundly captures one of the many complexities of this candid film. Other notable interviewees in the film include the late Fritz Stern, a world-renowned historian, Rafael Seligman, an Israeli born German-Jewish writer who publishes The Jewish Voice from Germany; and Rabbi Andreas Nachama, born in Germany, and the executive director of the Topography of Terror Museum in Berlin. Germans and Jews builds on one of the world’s most familiar history lessons, while noting new possibilities for current and future generations to come.