Staged Reading: Gotthold Ephraim Lessing – The Jews

Event for Holocaust Remembrance Day The commemoration of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on January 27, 1945, has become a tradition. By remembering the annihilation of the Jews by the Nazis, we aim to keep alive the memory of the peak of anti-Semitism in Germany, as anti-Semitism is an integral part of German history. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing left us an early work that is almost unknown, even though it vividly depicts the Jewish living conditions of his time. It is the one-act play "The Jews." We would like to present this as an example of anti-Semitism in the 18th century in a staged reading. It is written in the language of its time and uses the then-common phrasing that Jews are members of a people, not just a religion, to mark them as outsiders. Members of the theater group Buntspecht will perform it under the direction of Eike Mewes.